Chuck Vs The Journey
by Dancanman
Summary: Chuck wakes up to a universe of possibilities. Chuck Pops the question. Sarah says yes, but will the general? Ch.1 written Pre 2.22, Some Inconsistency. UPDATE: Chapters 1-8 are complete. -Chuck tries to save Casey, but will he make it back to Sarah?-
1. Infinite Possibilities

_Synopsis: It's the day of Ellie's wedding, and emotions are running high. But not just for the bride & groom…._

_Characters: Chuck B (or Charles Carmichael), Sarah W, Ellie B/W (!), Devin W (Or awesome, or Captain), Steven B (Chuck & Ellie's Dad), Woody & Honey (Devin's Parent's)_

_References from episodes: 2.01, 2.03, 2.16 (with vague references to 1.01 & 1.06[?])_

_Chapters: NOT one-shot…. 7-12 Chapters (planned) [ONE written], approx. 2,000 words-per-chapter (WPC)_

_Setting: Directly after 2.21 (Vs. the Colonel) Sarah has been promoted and will be heading to Washington on Monday. The wedding is scheduled for Sunday. Our story begins on Sunday morning…._

_Thanks To: DragonfaeBlue for all the help making the story actually flow! The great writers here on that inspired me to try my hand at writing, The awesome members of & JS,CF,ZL,YS,RM,SL,SK,VS (Executive Producers and Lead actors on Chuck)_

_OTHER NOTES: My First Fanfic…. This story was written BEFORE 2.22 aired. _

_UPDATED with proper grammar/spelling & a better flowing storyline, no major changes.  
_

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Chapter One: Infinite Possibilities

Sunlight streamed into the room, a growing wedge of light splintering the darkness. Quiet hung in the air like a thin fog, only disturbed by the chirping of birds outside. The calm surroundings were shattered by the shrieking of an alarm clock. The bed's lone occupant was awakened suddenly. Begrudgingly, Chuck slowly rolled over and hit the snooze button.

"It's Sunday", he thought, "why did I set my alarm?" Just as he was about to roll over, the phone rang.

"CHUCK!! Where are you?" Ellie sounded even more stressed than usual. "It's only six hours away, and I need someone to check in on Awesome!"

Chuck sat up in bed and noticed the tux hanging on the back of his door. The wedding! "I'll be right there."

-----

Across town, resounding thuds filled a room in quick succession. Sarah always had trouble controlling her emotions. She took another swing at the punching bag. She had never really been happy. Her growing up years had been muddled by her father's chosen profession. Friends were few and far between; it seemed like she could never settle down. Until now, that is. For the last three years, she had gone to the same job, met the same people and seen the same things. It was almost like Sarah had finally fit in. But of course, whenever she got settled, it was time to go. Only a few days prior, Operation Bartowski had come to an unexpectedly abrupt end. The Intersect was no more, and her future was hanging in the balance. She was being recalled back to Washington, to evaluate her options. "Evaluate", that made it sound like she had a choice in the matter. If she did, she wouldn't leave in the first place; at least not without someone else… With one final swing, Sarah finished her mental tirade.

"Why did I have to get so attached to him?" she wondered aloud, brushing the glistening strands of hair out of her face. As she toweled off, her eyes drifted to a picture of the two of them. Chucks radiant brown eyes glowed back at her, filled with an expression of sheer pleasure.

"If only," she sighed. Sarah glanced at her watch. "Crap! Gotta get ready for the wedding! And I haven't even done my hair yet!"

-----

A few minutes later, Chuck was motoring through downtown Burbank. Puffy clouds dotted the deep blue California sky. As he drove, Chuck was lost in thought. Not over Morgan's newest Call of Duty strategy or the latest crop of iPhone apps, but over his future. Everything was different now, with Ellie getting married, and the little bearded buffoon moving to Hawaii. His life was about to change radically, and yet, he didn't have a care in the world; the Intersect was removed. No flashes. No missions. No Casey. He and Sarah could drop their cover and be a real couple, with real emotions and real potential. As he idled at a stoplight, his eyes drifted skyward.

"Whatdaya know, I actually have a future!" he exclaimed to himself.

"Ahh possibilities!"

Upon arrival at the church, he was pounced by Jeff and Lester, decked out in their spiffiest attire. "Can you believe it Charles?! Jeffser is in the big-time!" Lester exclaimed, high fiving Chuck!

"Great guys, just great, have you seen Awso…. wait, what?" Lester's statement finally set in on him.

"Awesome picked you guys to be the wedding band?!"

"Yes yes yes!!" Jeffster was currently jumping up and down in suitable schoolgirl-like fashion.

"We just hit the jackpot!" pronounced Jeff "I can kiss the Buymore goodbye!"

"Don't get too carried away there buddy" Chuck cautioned, quickly adding, "Hey, where's the groom?"

"He's got the wedding jitters, man, he needs to meet my good friend Beer!"

"Thanks for the help Jeff..." Chuck said as he started for the church.

-----

"Turn left in zero point three miles."

After all this time, Sarah couldn't believe that SHE of all people needed assistance getting to a wedding. But then again, who would have that one of the CIA's most ruthless agents would be going to a wedding in the first place? It wasn't even hers. So much had changed since she met Chuck. The fact of the matter was, he brought out a person in her that she'd never known was there. But nothing ever goes according to plan. How would she tell him; how could she for that matter?

"Take next exit."

How would Chuck take the news? If there was one thing Bartowski couldn't stand, it would have to be Bryce Larkin. And Bryce just had to be the only person available to take her away. Sarah couldn't think of a worse way to end their relationship, just as it was finally getting started. But orders are orders, and there's no way out.

"Turn right in one point three miles."

But she couldn't leave without an explanation, that would be too cruel. She was suddenly taken aback by her own train of thought. Sarah never thought about how her actions would affect someone emotionally, ever. But Chuck wasn't just someone… Her nervousness became apparent as she approached the church. She tried to remember the last time she was in a church. When was it? Her mind kept trailing off back to Chuck… God, this was going to be a cruddy day.

-----

"Hey Ellie, you ready for this?" Chuck asked in a joking tone.

"Chuck, don't toy with me right now, if I could be anymore stressed, I would explode!"

"Sorry sis, you know I'm just so happy for you. You look wonderful by the way."

"I just can't believe that I'm getting married today. I've dreamt of this for so long, and now it's finally here, oh, I'm just so excited!" Ellie exclaimed, engulfing Chuck in a giant hug.

"I know you are, sis, and I know Devin's the right guy for you."

"That's why I'm marrying him! But the question is, do you know who the right girl is for you?"

Chucks eyes glazed over a little."Yes…yes I do." Chuck finally whispered.

Just as he said that, as if on cue, Sarah hurriedly strolled into the dressing room.

"Sarah!"

"Hey Ellie!" Sarah cast a quick glance at Chuck as she hugged the bride-to-be. "A little excited are we now?" she responded to Ellie's vise like hug.

"Maybe just a little…"

"Well, you ladies enjoy yourselves, I gotta go make sure Awesome's ok."

As Chuck neared Awesome, he drifted off… Something inside him wished this was his wedding. He rummaged though is jacket pocket, searching for nothing in particular. Ok, that wasn't exactly true; he had had something in that pocket for the past week. If only he had the guts to-

"Chuckles, ya gotta help me here bro!"

"Hmm, in about 20 minutes your gonna mean that literally!" Chuck joked. "What's up?"

"I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make this bow-tie look right!"

"Well, lucky for you, I have lots of practice with these things! Lemme see that."

"What, Buymore made you guys dress up?"

Chuck realized that he had slipped up. Why on earth would he have experience with bowties? Besides, of course the countless missions he had to go on… Chuck taught himself how to tie a bow tie after the incident with Bryce. Four hours later, he was a pro, no more clip-ons. But clip-ons had the advantage that they were perpetually cock-eyed, and since Sarah felt it her duty to make sure his tie was straight… "FOCUS Bartowski!" he could imagine Casey berating him at this very moment.

"You're all set, Captain! Now, let's go get my sister hitched!"

-----

The church was packed to the gills, and then some. Honey had managed to invite so many people that there wasn't a seat to be found. Fortunately for Chuck, he was the best man, so he didn't need a seat. "Thank goodness for the little things," he mumbled to himself. As he took his spot behind the groom, he noticed, to his chagrin, that the entire buy-more had been invited. Big Mike and Bologna were there, and Chuck noted the new ring on her finger! The Nerd Herd was grouped together, talking about the R-7 Gaming laptop that had arrived a few weeks ago. Green-shirts dotted the otherwise formally attired audience, providing a humorous backdrop for this momentous occasion. Woody was deliberately trying to avoid his wife, who was giving the bridesmaid one final briefing, in a style that would make general Beckman proud.

And there was Sarah.

It was strange really, a hardened agent, nervous as could be. Even Casey couldn't frighten her that much. And yet, there was something about her, this aura that attracted his eyes. She did look elegant in that pink dress, with her hair up, a few lone strands reaching down to her shoulders. Chuck sighed. "The only way she could be more beautiful," he decided, "was if she was in a wedding gown." Their eyes met for a moment, then she looked away. But it was too late; he knew something was wrong. Her eyes gave it away. Sarah Walker could fake out every other person in the world, even Bryce if she wanted to. But no matter how hard she tried, Chuck would always read right through her.

"Aww nuts! Now he knows something's up. Why him, why oh why oh why" Sarah muttered as she glanced upward.

"Blondie! Wake up!" Honey snapped. Sarah suppressed the urge to beat the pulp out of her. "Now as I was saying, this has to go perfectly. We only have one shot at this, and we're going to do it right! Now get up there, stand up straight and smile. Go, GO!"

Some people could get _so_ stressed…

-----

The moment had finally come. As the organ played, Ellie and Steven proceeded down the aisle. Just before he let her go, Ellie whispered "I love you daddy." Now that was enough to make any father smile! While the preacher made his opening remarks about the happy couple, Chuck and Sarah exchanged awkward glances. Both of them seemed detached from their surroundings, almost in a trance like state.

"I pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride."

At that very moment, Chuck's heart was filled with mixed emotions. As happy as he was for Ellie, he couldn't help but wish things were different. Of all the things that could have popped into his head, the thing he kept repeating over and over was the advice Cole gave him in Castle: "You want something bad enough, never take no for an answer." Chuck admitted to himself that he was scared. But he couldn't figure out what exactly he was afraid of. Rejection? Maybe, but he had had so many dreams crushed before… He had always felt like there was that ever-so-slim possibility, ever since he had first looked into her eyes. He was afraid to take a chance. If she said no, then what? What would he have left in life? As much as he hated to admit it, she was the one thing that got him out of bed in the morning. Without Sarah, he would have cracked from the stress long ago. But what if she said yes? Somehow, it seemed to him like his chances were slim. And being shot down would kill him.

"Chuck! C'mon" It was Sarah. The room had drained quickly, with everyone heading to the reception. Meanwhile Chuck had stood there dumbfounded, lost in his own thoughts. "Let's go! I don't want us to be the last ones on the dance floor!" Sarah teased a smile flitting across her face. Chuck mumbled something like "someday" and then promptly snapped out of his trance, "Wait a minute... You want to dance... With me?"

"Mmmhmm..."

"Well way to make me an offer I can't refuse… Oh fine"

As they walked down the aisle, hand in hand Sarah bragged:

"I _so_ have you wrapped around my pinky finger!"

"Oh, really? Is that so?" Chuck protested.

"Yes, it is so. I can make you do anything Mr. Bartowski."

"That's not true; you can't make me stay in the car!"

"Touché. But I can get you to do anything else."

"Like what? Eat off the floor?"

"Hardly. But I bet I can make you kiss me." A sly grin spread across her face.

"Me? Kiss you? You're quite confident of that Miss Walker."

Sarah paused as they reached the back of the sanctuary. "Absolutely," She whispered. Chuck whirled her around, planting his left hand firmly in the small of her back. As he drew her to him, Sarah gave a little squeak of joy that was cut off by the meeting of their lips. Chuck drew off one long kiss, and then relinquished his prize.

"Oh my, I do think your right my dear."

"Of course I am! I'm always right!"

As they emerged from the church onto the back patio where the reception was being held, Chuck mused:

"For the record, I'd rather be wrapped around your ring finger."

Looking at their clasped hands, Sarah whispered in his ear, "Me too."

* * *


	2. A Reversal of Fortunes

_Setting: At the end of 2.22, I came up with a different ending, followed by original content. (The rest of the story will be 100% original, seeing as we don't get another Chuckisode for another few months (hopefully!) So much Charah in the second half that I was dizzy when I finished writing._

_Thanks To: DragonfaeBlue for all the help making the story actually flow! The great writers here on that inspired me to try my hand at writing, The awesome members of & JS,CF,ZL,YS,RM,SL,SK,VS (Executive Producers and Lead actors on Chuck)_

_Note: PLEASE review, I would love input on the story so far. I wouldn't recommend reading this if you haven't watched Chuck vs. the Ring, because, frankly it won't make sense otherwise_

_UPDATED with minor spelling & grammar corrections. thx DFB!  
_

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Chapter Two: A Reversal of Fortunes

"It's over!" a low voice growled. "There's nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. So for the love of god, quit squirming!"

It was not looking good for team Bartowski. Sarah and Casey were tied to chairs, while Chuck, after trying to escape, found himself trapped between the smooth Plexiglas walls of the intersect room and a wall of Fulcrum agents.

"Look, Agent Carmichael, be reasonable with us here. We won't hurt you." A sly grin swept over the man's face. "Move him over with the others! Sorry, were all out of chairs, you'll just have to stand."

"What do you want from us? Revenge? I destroyed your precious intersect, I screwed up your plans-"

"Oh come now! Don't think were that shallow. You have something we want very badly."

"And that might be?" Chuck quipped, silently wishing he was halfway around the world right now.

"Bryce Larkin," Agent Porter snapped, "The last intersect. I know you know where he is. In fact, Mr. Carmichael, I know all about you." He pulled out Chuck's wallet. See these shining faces before you?" He pointed to the pictures Chuck had in his wallet. One was of Devin & Ellie, the other of Sarah. "You know, CHUCK, this person looks quite familiar."

"Really?" Chuck feigned surprise. "Please do elaborate."

"Let me cut to the point here, Mr. Bartowski. You seem to have lived a charmed life. Father left when you were a child, mother died in an accident, expelled from Stanford for cheating-"

"Thanks, but I'm pretty familiar with my resume," Chuck quipped.

"You know," Porter continued, ignoring Chuck's remark, "I've always had trouble with the ladies. And yet you, some looser from Oklahoma, can manage to snag a hot piece like Blondie over here." He slowly walked behind Sarah as he continued. "How did you do it? This woman of high caliber, who obviously had feelings for that man we're after," He grasped a luscious clump of her hair and gave it a tug. "There's only one possible explanation for this; this _thing_ sitting in front of me it the biggest idiot in the world! I mean seriously, what could a bimbo like her EVER see in a... well... I don't know, person like you?"

"Don't bring her into this" Chuck snapped.

"Fine, have it your way. I won't torture you anyways. I will, however, torture her."

Chuck pushed through the ring of agents surrounding him and walked directly over to Porter.

"We don't know where Bryce is. I don't know where Bryce is" His voice quickened "You want to know who the only person is who knows where Bryce is? Bryce. That's it. NOBODY KNOWS!" He yelled. A dead silence filled the room. Porter glanced downward for a moment, as if pondering something, and then whirled around, slowly walking away from the group of captives. He stopped. Facing away from them, he continued, "Fine, then you're of no use to me." Whirling around, he aimed his pistol directly at Sarah's head.

"You wouldn't dare take that shot" Carmichael murmured.

"Why not? Are you going to beat me up? Draw me from limb to limb?" Agent Porter stood directly in front of Chuck now, staring at him, eyes full of malice. "You're not in a position to negotiate, Chuck." He cocked his gun.

This entire time, Sarah had been staring off into space, unaware of her surroundings. She was convinced that this was the end. Her life was flashing before her eyes. Death was such a surreal concept to her. Sarah confronted it every day, but was never in a situation like this. At least the Intersect was destroyed, thanks to Chuck. Their deaths would not be in vain. Sarah turned to the agent beside her. Casey had been knocked unconscious, and his head was spurting blood. A small puddle had formed around his feet, as his head rested on his chest. This was the end.

BANG.

The sound of a single gunshot filled the room.

Chuck felt a strange sensation of calm come over him. He grabbed Porter's gun and shoved it downwards. Reflexively, Porter fired. The missile buried itself in Chuck's thigh. Not sensing the pain, Chuck punched Porter in the face, immediately knocking him unconscious. Without thinking, Chuck quickly turned, holding Porter's abandoned weapon, and fired into the group of enemy combatants. The odds were against him. And yet, it didn't matter. Plunging headlong into the group, Chuck tried his best to push his attackers back, silently praying for a miracle.

Sarah watched in awe as Chuck took out man after man after man. It was like a switch had flipped inside him. He was no longer Chuck, nor Casey, nor anyone else she could think of. There were only two more left.

Chuck saw red. In anger and passion he gave a swift uppercut to one gunman, and headbutted his final assailant into the far wall.

Time seemed to stop. His breaths were immense, as if his chest was about to explode. He surveyed his work. As the red mist fell from his eyes, they took in a horrible sight. Five agents, strewn over the room. Blood spattered over the pristine white interior of the Intersect room. As he regained his senses, his body filled with pain. His thigh was bleeding profusely, leaving behind him a trail of red. He hurried over to Sarah's side.

She sat there, speechless, not knowing what to think of the image that was burned into her brain. Mild-mannered Chuck, the one who fainted at the sight of his own blood, had just killed half a dozen enemies, without blinking an eye. "Sarah, come on, we have to get out of here!" He slung Casey over his shoulders and grabbed her hand. "There's no time!"

Slowly but surely, the battered trio made it outside. Casey came to on the way down, and chided Chuck for "an improper impersonation of the fireman's carry."

By the time they reached the van, it was all over. The FBI had arrived and began to systematically clear the building.

"Chuck, your leg!" Sarah gasped

"My what? OH OH OH! My leg, ohmygod I'm shot!" Falling to the ground in his angst he cried, "Man down over here! I'm hit! I'm dying! O god, I don't wanna die..."

"That" Casey quipped, "Is more like the nerd we've come to know and uh..."

Sarah grinned a little as she propped Chuck up against the van. "Finish the damn line Casey!"

"Never!" growled Casey, who was now digging through the van in search of his stash of "victory smokes".

"Fine! I'll do it!" Sarah said resignedly as she inspected Chucks wound. Chuck's eyes met hers. "That is the nerd _we've_ come to know and _I've_ come to love."

Chuck's face unmistakably lit up.

"You're looking a little pale there, _Chuckles_," Casey commented, "You need a cigar!"

"But I don't smoke!" Chuck weakly protested.

"Forget that; just stick it in your mouth moron." Casey boomed, shoving the cigar forcefully between his teeth.

"And that," Chuck half-muttered, half-gurgled, "is the _Casey _we allknow and love."

"Bartowski, I swear, if you weren't looking at Walker and doing that god-awful thing, what do you call it?"

"The Bartowski Eyebrow dance," Sarah supplied.

"Yeah, if you weren't doing that, I'd swear you were hitting on me."

"Casey, in the words of a man we both know all too well, "Chuck sat up stiffly and clear his throat 'I'm touched by your little speech'" he said in his high-pitched voice, "'But I'm sorry to say that I'm a flaming Heterosexual.'"

-----

"A 'Flaming Heterosexual'?" Sarah giggled as she straightened his bowtie, "where on earth did you come up with that?"

"Well," Chuck began, incredulously thanking himself for opting for the clip-on variety, "When I quit the Buymore yesterday, Emmett proclaimed his feelings on the subject quite candidly."

"Wait a second!" Sarah exclaimed as the clip-on popped off Chuck's collar, "I thought we were past this!"

Chuck feigned bashfulness and looked at his shoes. "Well, you see, uh... clip-ons have advantages!"

"Like what?"

"Well, for instance, these metal pokie-thingys hurt when stuck in an assailant's eye!"

"Really?! You're going to have to come up with a better excuse than that!"

"Uhh... Well, they never stay straight!"

"And that's a good thing?"

"Of course! Because then you fuss over him for an inordinate amount of time instead of focusing on the mission!" Casey interrupted

"Chuck grinned."I'm afraid he's correct, my dear."

"Well! I never!" Sarah jokingly pushed him away. "Fix this man's bowtie, will you, Casey?"

A wide smirk crossed Casey's face "Saddle up, Bartowski!" he said, catching the clip-on.

"Sarah, you better make this up to me later!"

"Oh can it, Chuck," Casey said, firmly affixing the offending piece of fabric with tape.

"So what's this super-secret mission that you guys can't tell me about?"

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a secret if we told you what it was, now would it?" Chuck pointed out, making gagging noises.

Sarah turned to inspect Casey's handiwork.

"Tape? Was that really necessary?" she said as she re-applied the clip-on.

"Well, now that my bowtie seems to be behaving for the moment, let's skedaddle before it starts acting up again!"

-----

"Why are we going to dinner at Grand Seville again?"

"Oh be patient Casey! It's better for all of us if you know as little as possible." Chuck was enjoying this, no, that's not the right word. Savoring it. Tonight was the night.

"Casey, why don't you go sit at the bar for a while, Walker and I will go do some, eh, reconnaissance.

"Like I believe that," Casey sneered. "The only reconnaissance she'll be doing is in your pants!"

"Casey!" Sarah snapped. "Go sit at the bar for god's sake. Unless you want to watch..." She squeezed up against Chuck.

Casey's reaction was priceless. "Ehh, on second thought, I think I'm gonna need that alcohol!" Casey promptly wandered off towards the open bar, while Sarah & Chuck retreated to a safe distance.

Chuck then whispered into his watch, "The bird is in the pot, boil away."

"Scotch please." Casey grunted as he took a seat at the bar. Those two made him sick sometimes. But, it's not like there was anything he could do about it. With that image burned into his brain, he managed to down the entire glass in one swallop. The bill was on the NSA anyway, who cared if he got a little tipsy. As he was about to reach for a third glass, a feminine hand rested on his shoulder. He found himself lost in her dark brown eyes.

"Ilsa," he breathed.

"Hello John."

"Hey Bartender! Scratch that third scotch! 2 Vodkas!

From somewhere else in the room, Sarah noted, "Mission accomplished!"

Chuck grinned. "That was easy! Now, let's get you fed!"

"Are you trying to fatten me up, Mr. Carmichael?" Sarah laughed.

"Me? Nah, but there is a nice view from over here." He led Sarah out on to the back balcony. The sun was just beginning to sink over the western horizon, providing a perfect backdrop to the Los Angeles skyline. As they stood there, leaning against the railing, Chuck grasped Sarah's hand. Motioning to a nearby table he smiled, "Take a seat, honey."

"Mr. Carmichael?" A lone waiter appeared on the balcony

"Over here!" Chuck murmured to Sarah with a sense of mock seriousness, "It's a good idea to use one's aliases on a mission, you never know when the Russians could be watching."

Sarah laughed, "Chuck, you're a dork."

He burst out laughing. "For the last time, the proper term is NERD!! Thank you waiter. Now, I want you to guess what this is!"

"Uh, an MP5N? I've had my eye on one of those for awhile..."

"No, silly. Try again."

Chuck had her stumped, so she blurted out what came to mind.

"A cheeseburger with red onions and extra pickles?"

It took every ounce of willpower Chuck had in him to contain himself. "Not quite!"

Sarah's face faded a _tiny_ bit. "Chuck-"

"You forgot the fries and ketchup!" Chuck triumphantly pulled the lid off the silver tray to reveal two cheeseburgers with red onions and extra pickles, along with a multitude of fries.

"You, Charles Bartowski, are a sneaky little bastard!"

-----

"Well," Sarah said after they had finished their meal, "It seems that Casey decided to go on a reconnaissance mission."

"Sarah! Don't be so crude! It's truly below you!" Chuck retorted, fumbling with his pocket for the third time that night.

"Chuck, if you're planning on stabbing me with that knife in your pocket, I'll have you know that I have disarmed assailants almost as charming than you!"

Chuck was taking it all in, just in case. She looked so elegant in her blue evening dress, with her blonde hair up. On her wrist was the charm bracelet he had given her for Christmas and around her neck was the necklace he had given her for Valentine's Day. As unbelievable as it was, she had an even greater aura than at the wedding.

"Sarah, you've given me a lot over the years," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Like what? Bruises? Broken bones? I guess there was that one time that I-"

"No. Not that." She looked into his eyes. He was serious.

"I meant like, confidence, or... I don't know, happiness."

God, Chuck thought, this was falling apart quickly. Time to dive in for the kill. He got up and took Sarah's hand.

"See that skyline over there, Sarah? You lifted the fog over my life. Before you came along, I didn't care what I did, I didn't have any direction. But you gave me a sense of purpose, a direction. Truth be told, I felt through all these bad things that were happening to me, you were the one good thing that came out of all that. You were the spark that kept me going, even when it got tough. Now, I can see what I want my future to be like. I can see all the way till the ocean meets the sky. And, it would be my honor-" he got down on one knee. There was no turning back now.

There was Casey's voice in the back of his head: 'Do it Bartowski.'

"...if you would promise to be a part of that future." He pulled the velvet box out of his pocket. "I want you to be there."

Sarah was speechless. What would she say? All she heard was, "I want you to be there." And that was enough for her.

With a smile on her face that could have spanned that same ocean, she managed to whisper, "yes!"

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_Hot diggity dog, she said yes! I realize that was way too long, but I really wanted Sarah to repeat Chucks line, so I said screw it, Note that Ilsa is Casey's long lost girlfriend from 1.12, and the hotel also corresponds. The burger reference meanwhile is from Vs. the Cougars. Emmet did actually say that, as you hopefully remember(2.22),and the charm bracelet was given to Sarah from Christmas in Vs Santa(2.12)_

_So, tune in next time to find out Casey's reaction to their engagement [yet to be determined], as well as the General's[quite negative, not surprisingly.] (The Title of that episode will be "Of Colonels and Generals") Once again, please review the story thus far, and feel free to be totally negative. ("where the heck is Morgan!" Or "TOO much Charah you shipper-nut!")_

_Until then, may your Nerds be helpful, and your Computers not Crash!_


	3. Of Colonels & Generals

_Setting: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ CH2 FIRST!! With Charah officially "together", Chuck's life is complete. But now it's time to inform Sarah's proverbial parents. Chuck knew that getting Sarah to say yes would be the easy part......._

_Thanks To: DragonfaeBlue for all the help making the story actually flow! The great writers here on that inspired me to try my hand at writing, The awesome members of & JS,CF,ZL,YS,RM,SL,SK,VS (Executive Producers and Lead actors on Chuck) _

**_Thank you for all the positive feedback! I must be doing something right!_**

_Note: Strong language is used when conversing with the general, be warned_

_Update: Chuck's language has been appropriately revised, spelling and grammar have been fixed. Big thx to DFB for all the help!  
_

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Chapter Three: Of Colonels and Generals

Light filtered down through the open window, pouring into Chuck's room. Birds sung outside in the courtyard. Chuck was awakened, not by his rasping alarm clock, but the light falling across his face. There she was. Sleeping. How could she possibly look that beautiful without even trying? The sun made the waterfall of her golden hair glisten, brighter than any gold ever could. She looked so happy, so carefree in her sleep. Theirs was a job of stress and surprises.

His eyes settled upon her hand, framed against the pillow, the ring finger finally inhabited.

Chuck had thrown his instincts to the wind when he bought that ring. Checking every store, spending long nights on the internet, trying to find the perfect one-for the perfect girl. Money was no object. He assumed he could eventually pay it back, a very non-Chuck thing to do. He was always very cautious with his money, but when he saw this ring, he knew that it was the one. He'd had it in his pocket for the last two months, waiting for the right time to strike. But that moment didn't come on its own accord. After the incident in the intersect room, he realized that he couldn't wait any longer. So he'd made the moment. And a pretty good one at that!

Chuck smiled, running over the ring again in his mind. Inside the silver band was etched "Never take no for an answer." Many times he had read that, hoping that _tonight would be the night_.

But in a spy's life, nothing goes as planned. He admired the ring, a blue diamond, the exact color of Sarah's eyes, framed by two smaller conventional diamonds. Sure, if he hadn't gotten that paycheck from the government, he would have never paid off his debt, but at the time he rationalized the purchase as such, "If she says yes, that's all I ever need. If she says no, my life is worthless, and no amount of money could ever mend my broken heart." He leaned over and softly kissed her forehead. She stirred, snuggling closer to him.

When Sarah opened her eyes, she found Chuck staring back at her.

"I love you Chuck"

And that made it official; Chuck was THE happiest man in the world. And nothing could ever change that.

-----

The short walk to the Orange-Orange had seemed to be taken straight from a dream. Sarah was almost skipping to work, Chucks hand caught up in hers. They talked about some unimportant thing, like the weather, but neither was really paying attention to the discussion. As they were about to enter Castle, Chuck commented,

"Sooo, Mrs. Bartowski, how d'ya think Casey will take the news?"

"One mission at a time, Chuck, one mission at a time. Wait a second, do you hear something?"

On the other side of the door, Casey was busy going though the morning briefings, whistling. Not the piercing whistle that could shatter bullet-proof glass, but... what in the world was he whistling?

The blast door opened, and the happy couple descended down the stairway.

"Someone's chipper this morning." mumbled Chuck his face forming a sly grin. "Wait, is that-"

"Journey" Sarah cut him off a look of surprise, "he's whistling Journey."

Spontaneously, Casey burst into song.

It was all Chuck and Sarah could do to keep from bursting into laughter. There was the NSA's coldest agent, flailing his arms wildly and SINGING-

"So now I come to you, with open arms  
Nothing to hide, believe what I say  
So here I am with open arms  
Hoping you'll see what your love means to me  
Open arms..."

He finished with a flourish, seemingly unaware of his baffled audience.

"I really would never have pegged you as a Journey type of guy, Casey, but bravo, that was marvelous."

Casey whirled around. "Bartowski!" he boomed, "You set me up!"

"Aha, I take it you enjoyed your evening with Miss Ilsa."

"Well," Casey said sheepishly, "I- uh... Yeah sure. But what were you two yahoos up to?"

"Take a guess," Sarah smiled mischievously as Chuck wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Ugh! You could at least have slipped me a couple spares, Bartowski, since you were obviously so _well prepared_"

"Steerrriike one!" Sarah was enjoying this.

"Wait, so you guys actually went on a mission without me?" Casey roared. "I cannot believe you, Walker! That thing-" pointing to Chuck "-is starting to get into your head."

"Steerrriike two! Although he _is_..." Sarah made the mistake of running her _left_ hand over Chuck's cheek.

Casey's face became a crumpled mass of confusion as he noticed Sarah's new rock. A grin spread across his face.

"Well, well, well. Nice job there, _Chuckles_; I thought you wouldn't have the stones to pull it off!" He strode past the lovebirds and assumed his usual spot at the head of the table. "Might wanna take that ring off before the briefing, Walker; I'm guessing the general will be less than thrilled at your, uh, attachment to the skin covered robot over there."

Chuck and Sarah exchanged glances.

"Wait, so you're not gonna rat us out?" Sarah asked.

"Nope. Last thing I need is a frickin' yahoo who has no idea what the hell is going on around here. And that's what replacements usually are. But, do the world a favor and fraternize off hours please. I don't want to be stuck cleaning up holding cells."

Sarah sat down, pretending to be miffed. "I dunno, Casey, we just can't seem to keep our hands off each other..."

"Oh for God's sake, don't make me change my mind!"

"About what, Colonel?" The General had started early and just happened to catch that last sentence.

"Well," Sarah responded, glancing casually at Chuck, "The three of us were deciding what color to paint the interior of the holding cells-"

Casey interrupted him. "I really think they should be some kind of off pink color, it would tie in nicely with the sliver trim. But Walker over here insists that it should be-"

"Some variant of navy blue. What do you think, General?" Sarah finished

The general stared back at them in amazement on the screen. "You were arguing about paint colors for a project that has not been officially approved? I will never understand you three."

An awkward moment for sure. The three agents exchanged glances.

"If I may interrupt, General," Chuck spoke up, "I... uh... have something I would like to share with the rest of the class."

"Oh, really, Mr. Bartowski?" The general sighed. "As long as it doesn't pertain to paint."

"Yes ma'am. This is more addressed towards you than anyone else, because Casey already knows."

Sarah shot Chuck a glance sharper than a double-edged machete.

"What the hell are you doing Bartowski!" Casey muttered.

"Can we have a moment, general?" Sarah asked, a look of sheer anger on her face.

"No, you may not. This base keeps no secrets from me. Continue, Bartowski."

"I. Will. Kill. You." Sarah mouthed.

"Sa- Agent Walker and I have had a very, err, complicated relationship. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I would like to report that recently our situation has become much less complex."

"Elaborate, Mr. Bartowski."

" Sarah and I are engaged," Chuck said without hesitation.

"Oh, you mean as your cover. Very well then, I-"

"No, general. We are ENGAGED."

"You're WHAT??" the generals face turned a dark shade of purple, that even the late Harry Tang could not achieve.

"Agent Walker, excuse us for a moment."

"General!" Sarah objected.

Chuck touched Sarah's arm. "It's alright babe, I got this one." A quick parting kiss and Chuck found himself in a room with a very angry general.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"General, have you ever been in love?"

"BARTOWSKI! This is not a meeting about MY personal affairs!"

Chuck continued undeterred. "General, Sarah Walker is a fine woman. Strong, brave, compassionate, loving, I could go on but..." The general did not look appeased. "You really don't care... do you...."

"You listen to me Bartowski, it's obvious that you and Walker have let your emotions cloud your judgment. Walker will be reassigned, effective immediately."

"You do that, general. Go ahead. But this ends my cooperation with the CIA. I'll be going to the highest bidder, hell might as well go over to Fulcrum."

"You wouldn't."

"What do you think I have to lose, huh? You think I wouldn't do anything to be with Sarah? If I can't have her, I swear to God, I will make your life a living hell. She already said yes. And if you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me."

"Maybe I will. I'm sure Colonel Casey would gladly take care of this... situation for me."

"To hell I will!" Casey stormed. "General with all due respect, you are sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. If Walker gets reassigned, I quit. Furthermore, I will aid the Asset to the best of my ability to screw you over!"

"Fine. I'm sending in an airstrike to deal with this threat."

"You won't do that."

"And why won't I, Mr. Bartowski?"

"Because I have all your secrets stored right here" he said pointing to his head, "and we both know that if, I don't know, Iran got these secrets, your job would become much harder. Besides, we both know that the only thing that could bring down this base is a nuclear warhead... So are you going to nuke LA? You are a giant maniacal bitch, and I've known that since I first met you. I've done every last damn thing you've ever wanted me to do: Hang off of buildings, defuse bombs, blow up bad guys, and quite generally save the day. Agent Walker has followed every whim of yours to a T. Casey has gone above and beyond what is required to keep me safe. I owe these people my lives, General, not you. So, after these two years of hell, you're saying that I cannot marry the girl of my dreams, merely because you don't want me to be happy? Is that it?"

"You cannot talk to me like that, Casey take him into custody!"

"Shut up, and let me finish!" Chuck yelled. "I am willing to give you a deal. And a pretty sweet deal at that. I am willing to live out my days as the goddamn human intersect, and doing whatever the hell you want me to do. The general tried to cut him off; Chuck ignored her. "But, ONLY under one condition. Walker is allowed to make a choice. She can either leave or stay whichever she chooses. _NO MATTER WHAT SHE DECIDES._ I agree to keep doing this shitty job till the day I die. Got it? Good."

"Well! The general looked flustered. Agent Casey, what is your opinion on this matter?"

"General, Stay the fuck out of Walker's personal life. She has proven she can cope in difficult situations, and frankly, it would be better for all of us on this team is she didn't have to leave. I have NO DOUBT she would stay if given the chance, but I think we should give her the option."

"Very well then, this conversation never happened. If it had you have both been demoted, and the intersect would have been eliminated for his own good." But let this be known," she said, leaning towards the webcam on her desk. "If your relationship with Walker cause ANY problems, I don't give a damn what you want, Operation Bartowski is OVER!"

Sarah had head snippets of the conversation from the gun cache. She never knew Chuck could get that angry, let alone at an important person like the general. An then she heard the words she never wanted to hear, echoing down the hall:

"Operation Bartowski is OVER!"

That was it. It was done. She was on the verge of tears as Chuck came into the room, chipper as ever.

"Oh, Sarah!" He rushed over to her. "Look, it's gonna be ok."

Sarah buried her face in his chest. "I let you down, Chuck."

"Look at me." Chuck's brown eyes met her blue ones. "See this ring here? While it's still on your finger, it's not possible for you to let me down, because I'm waaay up here. Sarah, I've been on cloud nine ever since last night, you never let me down. _Now_!" he said, impersonating the general, "on your feet Walker, time to meet your maker!"

"You're cute," she laughed, tears still streaming down her face.

"But not as cute as you. C'mon, let's get this over with."

-----

"Agent Walker," the general began, "It has been brought to my attention that you have become engaged to the asset. Not only is that against protocol and my best judgment, but it could endanger the assets livelihood. However, due to your exceptional service record, and due to compelling arguments made by your team members," She said, glaring at Chuck and Casey, "An exception can be made. You have 24 hours to decide whether you would like to stay on the team or, alternatively, have your pick of future operations."

Chucks stomach tightened.

"General, I do not need 24 hours; I can tell you my decision right now. My place is with Team Bartowski."

"Very well then. That is all. Oh and by the way, congratulations."

"This" Casey boomed happily, "is the proper juncture for a group hug!"

Sarah's grin was unmistakable. "Did Casey actually just say that?"

"Quick, let's do this before he changes his mind!"

And so, as Team Bartowski found themselves in a group embrace, the general watched from the security cameras.

"Idiots," she mumbled.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Holy cow, a group hug! That's a first. Not very many references to past episodes today, I'm lazy like that. Except of course for 2.16 (Cole Barker) and 2.06 [?](Casey the Choir boy) Oh and by the way, the song Casey's singing is "Open Arms" by Journey (it's on Project Playlist)._

_Tune in next time (tomorrow sound good?) to find out what Sarah's flavor of Ice cream is. Oh and by the way, Ice Cream will be used as a deadly weapon. Plus, Casey gets to help plan the wedding! (Episode entitled Frozen Delights) Once again, please review the story thus far, and feel free to be totally negative. ("Where the heck is Morgan!" Or "TOO much Charah you shipper-nut!")_

_Until next time, may your Nerds be helpful, and your Computers not Crash!_


	4. Frozen Delights Part 1

_Setting: Team Bartowski's next mission has strange parallels to the past, But does it really mean anything? How will Sarah react when she must seduce her mark?_

_Thanks To: DragonfaeBlue for all the help making the story actually flow! The great writers here on that inspired me to try my hand at writing, The awesome members of & JS,CF,ZL,YS,RM,SL,SK,VS (Executive Producers and Lead actors on Chuck) _

**_Thank you for all the positive feedback! I must be doing something right!_**

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Four: Frozen Delights Part 1

"You know Casey, you could easily outfit a drone with a couple of these tear gas grenades. That way you could make me cry without even being near me!"

After their prompt resignation from the Buymore, Chuck and Casey had found themselves unemployed. LA had been unusually quiet for the last couple weeks, so they found themselves with lots of time on their hands. With Sarah doing God-knows-what at the Orange Orange, they were left to their own devices. Casey had taken Chuck to his private armory, and frankly Chuck was impressed.

Casey looked up from the C-4 he was cuddling. "Hmm, as tempting as your offer sounds, I wouldn't be able to fully appreciate your pain as well from long-distance."

"Seriously though, how come we never get to play with drones? You strike me as the remote-controlled-destruction type of guy. I mean, besides the Herder what do we have that's remotely operated?"

"Your balls," Casey replied frankly.

"What now?"

"You heard me, Bartowski."

"I heard you, but I did NOT comprehend your statement."

"I gotta spell it out for you? Walker's got your balls in a vise..."

"Oh. That. Deep inside you, Casey, I know you're jealous. Anyhow, what about these suckers? What do they do?" Chuck said, pointing to a bunch of empty cartons in the corner.

"There boxes, dumbass."

"No they're not. C'mere."

"My bad, they're Remote Weapon Containment Devices. Might as well be boxes!"

"Ha! I told you!"

"What if you rigged one of these up to a trip wire..."

"Guys, I need you here right now!" Sarah whispered into her watch from her position at the yogurt shop.

"Roger that, we're en route!" Casey barked back. "Well, Chuck, looks like we're going to have to put this discussion on hold."

As they walked into Oo, nothing seemed amiss. In fact, it seemed normal. Except for Sarah, who looked more stressed than Ellie the day before Thanksgiving.

"Hey, honey, what's up?"

"Chuck, Casey, taste the rainbow," Sarah said, scooting two Styrofoam cups across the counter in their general direction. Chuck and Casey exchanged glances. "I said taste it, you knuckleheads, not silently judge me on my hobbies!"

"Walker-" Casey began, before he was cut off by Chuck hurriedly stuffing a spoonful of soft serve in (Casey's) mouth.

Casey's normally emotionless face lit up just a _tiny_ bit.

"Scotch!" he mumbled, mouth full.

"Yes, Casey, it has scotch," replied Sarah, casually.

"Oh, and by the way Bartowski, your gonna pay for that number you just did on me."

Quivering in fear, Chuck quickly downed the rest of the container.

After a long pause he elaborated: "You know, the burning of the scotch is really complemented by the ground up skittles. In fact- "

Chuck began to scream like a little girl, his hands massaging his temple.

"Pretty good!" Casey murmured.

"What is wrong with you Casey? Sarah asked, glancing over at Chuck in his frozen flavored spasm. "And, more to the point, what's wrong with you Chuck?"

Chuck let out one last piercing cry, "BRAAAAIN FREEEEZE!" before collapsing to the floor.

"One minute and thirty two seconds." Casey muttered. "I guess I owe you ten bucks, huh?"

Chuck managed to grin a little. "Told you I could do it."

"What the heck is going on here?" Sarah asked. No response. Again. Still no response.

Leaning over Chuck she twisted of his brown curls gently around her finger. "Well, if I can't get an answer." She pulled hard. "Guess I'll have to torture it out of you!"

"OWIE!" Chuck groaned. "Casey bet me ten bucks I couldn't chug a large container of frozen yogurt without having a brain freeze in the first minute post-consumption."

"Was that really so hard?" She asked, releasing him from bondage.

"No, but it was fun to watch!" Casey smirked. "By the way, would you guys happen to sell this flavor in bulk quantities?"

Before Sarah could reply, the ringing of phones split the air. All three iPhones were being called simultaneously by the same person. All three got the same message.

"Ahem." Then the mysterious caller hung up.

"Downstairs" Chuck said.

"Right now." Casey said. "'Bout time we got some action."

-----

"The target is Nick Lemery, the CEO of H&R military enterprises."

"Hold on a second general, is his last name spelled L-E-M-E-R-Y?"

"Yes it is, why do you ask, agent Bartowski"

Chuck burst out laughing, so hard that tears formed in his eyes. Everyone else watched him, perplexed. Noticing their confusion, Chuck commented, "what, you guys have no idea- O snap, I gotta savor this moment!" he said, pulling himself together.

"Mind sharing what's so funny Chuck?"

The general NEVER called him Chuck, it was far too casual.

"Ok, well the first person to write down the recipe for Ice Cream was named Nicholas Lemery."

"Hmm, dessert to defense, interesting choice of career paths." Murmured Casey.

"Casey, He died in 1705."

"Revenge of the nerds." Sarah laughed

"Anyway!" The general continued, "H&R is a military government contractor. Its missions are special however, because they to mainly reconnaissance and deep cover raids. Top secret. Their last mission was named, uh, never mind."

"What was the codename general? I might be able to flash and glean additional information." Chuck pointed out.

"Very well, it was named Rocky Road"

Team Bartowski was reduced to a fidgeting, giggling mass at this latest revelation.

"The mission was executed by the corporation, but they have so far withheld any findings from the government. Your goal will be to infiltrate H&R and find out why they are being so un-cooperative. You're going to their base in Waterbury Vermont, wheels up at 0300. Beckman out"

Chuck could not stop laughing.

"What is it this time, nincompoop?" Casey asked, annoyed by Chuck's overly cheery mood.

"Waterbury is where the first Ben & Jerry's store was opened."

This was going to be a long, annoying week for Casey.

-----

"Vermont huh? wouldn't have pegged it for a military base." Sarah mused as she packed the teams BDU's.

"Never underestimate New England rednecks." Casey quipped, "For it will most likely end badly. What? My dad was from New England, and he would say that constantly."

"Careful Casey, you're on the verge of telling us about your childhood, heaven forbid."

"Shut up Chuck, I'm NOT going to elaborate."

"SO, who exactly is in charge of the Oo while your gone Sarah?" Chuck asked

"Langley is sending in an agent to hold the fort while were gone, I think." As if on cue, the freezer door opened, and from the fog emerged the figure of a woman. A redhead to be exact.

Simultaneously, the entire team groaned in unison, "Oh no, not her."

"Hey guys!" Carina smiled, "long time no gunfight!"

-----

"It's too bad your leaving Casey, we could have sooo much fun with the Castle to ourselves." Carina said, shamelessly flirting with Casey.

"Yeah" Chuck commented wryly. "Just don't get any ideas about me, I'm taken."

"Taken? Why says she has to know?"

"Because she's standing right here." Sarah interjected, moving over towards Chuck.

"WHAT? You gotta be shitting me... How do you put up with these two, day in day out?"

Casey rolled his eyes "I'll say this, as annoying as their... thing is, you're more intolerable."

"Oh, man, look at the time" Chuck mused, "we take off in 45 minutes, time to go!"

"Well, you three have a fun time in Vermont, try not to end up dead, except maybe you Walker, because that would free up Chuck.."

"You remember Jeff from the buy-more?" Chuck asked.

"Yes but-"

"He has about the same chance with Sarah as You have with me. 0. None. Oh, and if you touch the Roark 7 over there, Ill skin you when we get back."

"I believe you mean _I_ will skin her _for_ you." Sarah corrected.

"This jet better have an open bar." Casey muttered.

-----

"Both the ice cream cone and banana split became popular in the early 20th century. Several different food vendors claimed to have invented the ice cream cone at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, MO, and there is credible evidence that proves that the ice cream cone was popularized at the fair. However, in fact, the Europeans were eating cones long before 1904."

"Bartowski!" A slightly-tipsy Casey hollered from the back of the plane, "If you do this for the entire flight, I _will_ strap you to the wing on the return trip."

"Never mind the peanut gallery," Sarah said, snuggling up against Chuck.

"Sarah, I'm boring myself talking about it, how can you possibly find this interesting?"

"Because you're cute when you go into nerd mode."

"hmm, that's your only motivation? I should do this more often!"

'No you shouldn't!" Protested the peanut gallery. If you do I'll start tranquilizing your family members at random!"

"He really drives a hard bargain when he's drunk. Doesn't he?"

"You should see me after I've had a few too many!" Sarah laughed. "Carina likens a drunk agent Walker to a stoned hulk. Big, scary & green in the face!"

"That's something I don't want to see! Now, where was I? Ahh yes, Americans consume about 15 quarts (more than 13 liters) of ice cream per person per year - the most of any country in the world. Although chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry are traditional flavors of ice cream, vanilla has grown to be far and away the most popular. 28% of all ice cream sold in the United States is vanilla, 12% chocolate, and 15% fruit flavored..."

-----

"So, here's how this is gonna go down," Casey began the next morning (in a much more sober state), "Sarah and I will enter the base as personnel, while Bartowski says in the van."

"Uh Casey, giving the events of a couple weeks ago, I think I've proved I can handle myself." Chuck protested.

"Where did you learn kung-fu anyway?" Sarah asked quizzically, "I sure never taught you."

"I'm not quite sure... but can I come?"

"Fine, be my guest. When you can't keep up, don't blame me!" he grumbled.

"So what exactly do we think we're gonna get out of this mission? I mean they most likely gathered intel from their last mission, which in all likelihood would be stored somewhere on their main servers. But aren't we supposed to also try to figure out why they wouldn't disclose it?"

"As new recruits, we wouldn't normally be aware of such operations, but if we could get close to the brass (cough, cough) that might allow us access to the info." Chuck couldn't believe that he actually just recommended the best course of action would be to pimp out his fiancé.

"I'm going with Bartowski on this one Walker, get somebody in his office, he'll turn off the surveillance, use a tranq and then we can log onto his system to get at the data."

"A plan like that would only work for half an hour or so, which wouldn't be enough time to find the data." Chuck pointed out. "If I could smuggle in one of the R7's we brought, then we could ghost the data server and comb through it later."

"That assumes I can get the office without surveillance." Sarah pointed out.

"Unless we could get a loop feed for the camera and then play the tape back while we're doing our thing! Guys, we might just be able to pull this off! But I need to go to the store first.."

-----

"Form up for Inspections!" The drill sergeant hollered.

"How exactly did I end up in the van?" asked Casey.

"Because," Chuck whispered tersely while standing at attention, "you can neither ghost a server, nor seduce a CEO."

"Quit whining Casey, you're the only one of us who's never been stuck in the van-" Sarah muttered

"Cadets, may I present to you, H&R's CEO, Nick Lemery."

"Thanks' Tim. Cadets, you have been chosen from among many to be the first of a new unit. A unit that will become an example of discipline and invincibility. This unit will utilize technologies that are not available to others. We will be testing our companies' prototypes on the fields of war." He began to stroll down the line of soldiers, pausing infront of _every_ female.

"Lucky for us, our target's a perv." Chuck whispered.

"What did you say Cadet?"

"Sir, I was just explaining to cadet Walker here how lucky we are to be part of such a privileged unit sir."

"You are lucky. Chosen at random from among the thousands that work here. I will be having a private conference with each one of you to discuss specifics." Sarah could feel his eyes upon her. "Focus on the mark Walker, don't worry about what Chuck will think." Flashing her best bambi eyes at Lemery as he passed, she knew she had him in her trap.

Lemery Continued down the line. "I will randomly decide who goes first, and there will be no complaints. Understood? Good. Cadet Carmichael, hop to it.

Name after name was called. After their briefings, the cadets were released. Sarah had still not gone up and there were only ten people left. The waiting was the hardest part. She just wanted to get in there and tranq the bastard.

"It looks like your going last Sarah, which is good, because that will give us a larger time buffer to get the ghost copied. I have the R7 on me, and it will take about 10 minutes to get the info we need. Your gonna do fine, I know it. But don't worry, Ill find some way to screw this up."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Chuck, Casey you ready to get that surveillance loop up?"

"Casey here, standing by."

"Cadet Walker!, Get a move on!"

"Yes sir! Sorry sir!" "Begin loop" she whispered under her breath.

"Your golden Walker, stay sharp in there!"

"Cadet Walker, it is a pleasure to meet you in person!"

"Sir, the pleasure is all mine."

"So, I, uhh..."

Are obviously not used to talking to pretty girls; thought Sarah.

"So what are the details of my assignment? Will I be running deep and hard? I really do prefer being close to the action, where it's hot." She was enjoying this way more than she should have. Watching this guy squirm uncomfortably was so, comical, it was all she could do to keep a straight face."

"Well, where you will be deploying, north of Basra, there is a large enemy camp, that you unit will be taking out. The enemy force will be much larger than your own, at a ratio of nearly four to one.

She leaned forward over the desk "That shouldn't be a problem sir; it's not like size matters."

While he was distracted with her statement, her right hand slowly gravitated towards her back pocket. All she needed was to distract his eyes for a small second. "Chuck is so gonna kill me for this" She thought as she rose up in her chair and kissed Lemery. He let out a squeak of surprise that was soon muffled as he relaxed, and then, he slipped from consciousness.

"That was gross" Sarah said out loud, "Damnit Chuck you better get what we came for!"

"Well, I can't get the data if you don't open this vent!" a voice said from above.

"You couldn't just use the door?"

"No duh, there are cameras every way to Sunday out there, no way I'd slip by un-noticed."

"There! Now get down here." Chuck slowly came down head first. When he reached Sarah's eye level he grabbed her head and pressed her lips to his, all the while praying that his legs would keep him from falling out of the vent completely.

A scream pierced their earwigs; "AAAAHHH!! I can't believe I have to watch this. Good grief, just get it over with."

The scream was enough to loosen his leg grip, and so Chuck soon found the floor coming up quite fast. THUMP! "Thanks for that Casey, he groaned. If you broke the laptop, I will shove this entire thing up your ass, even if you kill me in the process." Extracting the laptop from his backpack, he set up net to Lemery's desktop. "Whew, the motherboard has dual network ports! I didn't even think about that.. Ok Sarah, would you see if you can find the password to his server account?"

"It's D-O-N-D-U-R-M-A."

"Of course it was. How'd you know that?"

" I looked for his password while you were busy trying to get down from the vent. Why do you say of course that's what his password was?"

"I'll explain once I. Get. This. Stupid. Ghost. Going.

Chucks fingers flew as he opened the remote server's directory, and began the ghost. "see the ghosting availability is built into every copy of windows, you just have to know the command props code for it!"

"Cut the nerd fluff Bartowski, you got 12 minutes till roll call, when they figure out you two are missing!"

"There!"A smile flitted across Chuck and Sarah's faces, "Now we wait."

Five minutes later, the process was completed. "That was quick! Not that I'm complaining or anything, let's pack up and get outta here!" I'll grab the computer; Sarah, you stash the pervert somewhere safe & Casey, make sure to keep the loop feed going till were in the van. Once you switch back to live, Lemery will have disappeared, and they'll know something's up."

Chuck casually glanced at Lemery's face as Sarah hauled him away.

_A lone pine tree._

_Letters written to the elders regarding the death of Roark_

_An insignia patch_

_A plane on a carpet bombing run_

_A map of Bagdad's "Green Zone"_

_Back to the pine tree._

"Guys, peepers over here is fulcrum."

"Great" Sarah said, exasperated. "So what do we do with him?"

"Take him with us, back through the vents. Gimme a boost will ya?"

"Chuck your supposed to boost me up, that's the gentlemanly thing to do."

"Fine, be that way! Hurry up!"

-----

"Well, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but you yahoo's actually did a decent job on the mission without me."

"Unfortunately, were gonna need to get this laptop back to castle before we can see what see got!" Chuck said, flustered, "how soon can be be back in LA, Casey?"

"Six hours atleast"

"crap"

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_Sorry for the huge delay had some internet troubles this week. Part two of our adventure should be finished soon, and it will have a suitably themed ending! (I scream, you scream, we all scream for what?) No references, except 1.04 (vs wookie-carina) Thanks for the comments! For some reason, this chapter feels weird, so you're not alone in thinking that... eventually I'm hoping we get some kind of chapter to discuss what happened in the intersect room (I have thus far studiously avoided the kung-fu topic until now) The Sarah/ Lemery scene was meant to allow Sarah to see how being engaged to Chuck can 'mess with her' during missions. BTW ALL of the facts about Ice Cream are true, except that I have no Idea when Nicki Lemery actually died.(he wrote the ice cream recipe in the late 1600's so he's definitely dead by now. I've found writing this is a really good Chuck outlet now that it's off air for awhile, so expect more Chapters/stories from me in future. And FYI Chuck's fate will most likely not be announced at the NBC upfronts, go figure._

_**I am DESPERATE for beta readers! If you are interested, please message me.(email works too, )**  
_

_So, until next time, may your Nerds be helpful, and your Computers not Crash!_


	5. Frozen Delights Part 2

_Setting: When everything goes south, can Team Bartowski keep it together?_

_Thanks To: The great writers here on that inspired me to try my hand at writing, The awesome members of & JS,CF,ZL,YS,RM,SL,SK,VS (Executive Producers and Lead actors on Chuck) _

_**Thank you for all the positive feedback! I must be doing **__**something**__** right!**_

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Chapter Five: Frozen Delights Part 2

_Somewhere above Colorado…_

Chuck gazed out the window, surveying the landscape rolling out below him. He loved flying. Ever since he was a child, he had wanted to be a pilot. Unfortunately, he never got around to actually learning, and so he was forced to fill out his geek persona with digital knowledge. But the sense of freedom you got from flying was impossible to replicate.

"Bartowski! Get your head out of your ass!" Chuck nearly jumped out of his chair.

"Good lord Casey, was that really necessary?"

"Absolutely. Now, you were saying something about this guy's relationship with fulcrum."

"Oh, right. From the small amount of data I've looked though on the ghost, it appears that 'rocky road' was never actually executed. And the flash didn't tell me much about him, but Lemery's part of a plan to attack US forces in Bagdad."

Chuck got up and started moving to the mini–fridge in the back of the private aircraft. "Beer, Casey?"

Casey grunted.

"Ahh. Now that would be #3, 'responding in the affirmative'. Catch."

"So, what's the plan here Casey? We got the Intel, once we get back to Castle, I can replicate the server and we'll be good to go."

"Not so fast bucko, we gotta figure out what to do with dingle-berry over there."

Chuck leaned back in his chair. 'This is _so_ much better than flying coach' he thought. "Can't we just stick him with all the other Fulcrum baddies?"

"We could," Sarah began, "But then the government's relationship with H&R would become strained. And the last thing we need right now is a military contractor actively working with fulcrum."

"But if we let him go, then he's in charge again." Chucks train of thought was interrupted as Sarah sat down next to him. "Where did you come from?"

"The front of the plane silly. Hey! Where's my beer?"

"Casey, Be a gentleman and get this lady a beverage."

"You do it! Oh, and get me another one while your back there will ya?"

Sarah smiled. "See chuck, now that we're engaged, you're my slave. After all, what good is a husband that doesn't follow your every whim?"

"Fine, but if you steal my seat, I'm gonna have to resort to drastic measures." Chuck said, scowling imperviously.

His brain was still processing the fact that they were engaged. For real. Not just some awkward cover. Two years of "faking it" had really taken its toll on Chuck. Now he had a hard time separating fact from fiction. Sarah was so good at hiding her emotions, sometimes it was hard for him to tell what she was thinking. And he knew her better than anyone else.

As he opened the mini-fridge, he thought about all the people who had told them they were "meant to be". Chuck had liked her from when they first met, but then again, who wouldn't? Buymore. Harry Tang. Morgan. It all seemed so distant, almost like it had been a dream. But then again, he thought that he was living a dream right now, so…

"You stole my seat!"He exclaimed as he found Sarah had comfortably inhabited his territory. "Not cool!"

"Well, you were taking forever, and the seat is pretty comfy…"

Chuck set down the bottles and began to contemplate his options. "I said I would resort to drastic measures, walker, so now I guess you'll have to face the consequences." And with that he sat down in the seat, as if she wasn't even there.

"Oof!" Sarah groaned, "You're heavier than you look! Casey! Help!"

Casey was somewhat disturbed by the proceedings, but was enjoying it none the less. "You got yourself into this mess walker, I really can't help you."

"Oh and don't bother going for your knives." Chuck said holding up his vaunted prize.

"Wha? How'd you do that!?"

"You're getting rusty walker!" Casey laughed

"Well, I do have my knees in the perfect spot to deliver a good kick to the produce department!" With a sudden fervor, she found herself able to breathe once more.

"Tell you what, I'll exchange this beer for your seat."

"You drive a hard bargain Agent Carmichael, fine." As soon as she had vacated the coveted position, Chuck dove for it.

"HAH! Now I have all the cards! You've been beaten, agent walker!"

Casey was watching the proceedings, crying his eyes out from laughter.

"Well, if you want to play that way, prepare to be squished!" Sarah exclaimed, promptly positioning herself in Chuck's lap.

"Yeah, but see your actually not that heavy, hon. But, because of your creativity, I guess you can have the beer."

"'Bout time!"

The television on the far wall flicker to life.

"Well? Do you have the information?" The general processed the scene before her. "What the hell?!"

Still laughing heartily Casey chocked out "Don't mind them general, they are in the midst of a lovers' quarrel"

"We managed to copy their main data servers," Chuck explained, "but we won't know what we actually got until we transfer the data to our servers back at castle. You see I don't have enough computers up here to reproduce a server environment, so-"

"Fine. Tell me when you've got the server set up."

"Oh and one more thing general. Lemery is fulcrum. We've got him on the plane with us right now."

The general sighed. "That explains H&R's reluctance to investigate fulcrum. Rocky road's objective was to infiltrate a suspected fulcrum camp in the Appalachian Mountains. I'll have a team come from Langley to pick him up once you get back to Castle. Anything else? Good. That will be all."

"If we do this for every briefing, do you think the general would die of a heart attack?"

"I can guarantee that the general and I would both die of a heart attack." Casey said.

"This is your captain speaking, we are coming to our destination, please prepare for landing."

"Ahh, LA, I've missed ya." Chuck smiled. He had grown up in Sausalito, before his mother died. After her death, Papa B moved the family to an apartment in Burbank. They left because it was just too hard for him, living in the house that had so many memories. Steven had always blamed himself for Rebecca Bartowski's death. After she died, he became an emotional wreck, deteriorating until he finally abandoned his children, leaving them to their own devices. Chuck would always think of Burbank as his hometown, even though most memories there were not fond.

"I hate landings."

"What now?"

"I hate landings" Sarah repeated. Chuck looked in the seat next to him. Sarah was tense, gripping the armrests so her knuckles where white. A grin spread across his face.

"So you _ARE _afraid of something. Good! I was beginning to think you were impervious to fear."

"Actually there are two things I'm afraid of. Landing and Devin's mother. That woman _scares_ me!" Chuck's smile widened as he held her hand. "Honey's ok when it's not her son's wedding day."

"If I ever start acting like that at our son's wedding, slap me across the face. Ok?"

"Yikes, that's not happening for awhile yet! At least I hope not-"

-----

"Hey guys! Looks like you brought back a souvenir!" Carina said as the group entered the Orange-Orange. "Say, Walker, is it always this slow? I've only had like ten customers today."

Casey said, "That's because horny teenagers make the business run. No hot blonde, no sales"

"If it helps, Carina, I was thinking about applying for a federal bailout!" Sarah said, checking the cash register.

"Really, Casey? You seem to think I'm pretty…"

Casey grunted, and escorted Lemery into Castle. "That would be number seven" Chuck commented "Highly annoyed, slightly ashamed."

From the depths of Castle, the trio could hear, "I'm gonna kill you Bartowski!"

-----

"Ok, now just sit quietly until the recon team comes to pick you up." Casey grumbled in Lemery's general Direction, once they had returned to Castle.

"I can't really go far." He said, fidgeting with his handcuffs. "What the hell are you guys arresting me for anyway?" Sarah couldn't help herself: "For inappropriate contact with a superior officer. Hey, where's Chuck?"

"Last time I saw him, he was helping himself to the Ice cream upstairs." Carina said, trotting off in Casey's general direction.

"Eating ice cream? What kind of cops are you anyway?"

"Cops that are -this- close to kicking your ass" Casey growled. "Come on Walker, we need to brief the general."

----

"Skittles and scotch, who would have thought," Chuck mused to himself as he had another helping of 'rainbow recharge.' As he was about to commence, two stern-looking men walked into the shop. One of them flashed his badge. "We're here to pick up the package."

'Sure thing! Right this way please." Chuck hopped over the counter and led the way back to the freezer.

"Hang on just a second guys, I gotta open this door…"

Chuck felt the tranq dart enter his thigh. His legs suddenly went weak, and then he blacked out. The last thing he saw was the door to Castle, opening slowly.

When Chuck came to, he was propped behind the counter at the orange-orange. Below him, he could hear the crackle of gunfire. Were those automatic weapons? Still barely holding consciousness, he groped about, trying to find something to grab onto. His hand made its way along the edge of the counter; there! He pulled himself up, and was promptly forced to use the counter for support. Chuck's head was swirling.

From below, he heard Carina screaming "Get the do-" She was cut off in mid sentence. A scream reverberated through the complex, amplified by the cold concrete walls below him. Then he heard the clanking of footsteps coming up the catwalk. Chuck frantically looked around for some kind of weapon, hoping he could stop them somehow. "Of course!" he thought "this is gonna be fun!"

"Casey! Their making a break for it! Cover me" Sarah screeched. Gun battles were usually a snap for Sarah, but this time was different. Number one, they had been totally caught off-guard. And two, Chuck was nowhere to be found. Between those two things, the normally calm, confident Agent Walker had been reduced to a panicky mess. Of course, the bullet she took to the shoulder didn't help either. Through the haze of battle, she could see the men quickly climbing the catwalk. "Walker! Take cover! He's got bomb!" Like there was any shelter to be had in the sparsely outfitted room. "Duck and cover!"

The ground literally shook beneath Chuck's feet, sending him reeling. But he had to stop these guys. Part of his plan was together, but he still needed something slippery. The ice cream! His assailants were nearly at the top of the stairs. Quickly, he tossed the entire bin of Sarah's magical mix onto the floor in front of the freezer door. Still clutching the metal bin that had contained the sloppy goodness, he prepared to fight. His first mark burst through the door, pushing over the stack of milk crates Chuck had strategically positioned. The man then found the ice cream patch, promptly falling flat on his backside. Lemery came next, and couldn't stop in time to prevent running into his savior. With a yell like a wild banshee, Chuck leapt out of the shadows, bringing the metal bin down on Lemery's head. His third assailant took shelter in the freezer and began to blindly fire his pistol through the doorway, inadvertently hitting his partner in the neck as he tried to get up. Chuck was pinned behind a stack of boxes. Frantically searching for a way out of his predicament, his eyes settled on the fire extinguisher tucked under the counter.

"Baby, let's do this" Chuck murmured as he took hold of his weapon of choice. He could tell by the sound that he was being fired upon by a Berretta 21 caliber pistol. "Fifteen rounds, and a 20 second reload time. Just enough to get into firing range" As soon as the pistol feel silent, Chuck leaped towards the doorway. "Take this, scumbag!" He triumphantly yelled as a white fog filled the freezer. His last target stumbled out, coughing hard. One blow to the head with the fire extinguisher and he was done.

"Bartowski!" Casey burst out of Castle. "I'll deal with these assholes, Walker's down!" A stunned expression filled Chucks face; staring back at Casey almost as if he was frozen. "Well, don't just stand there, GO" Casey boomed.

As Chuck quickly descended down the stairs, he noted the destruction that met his eyes. Scorch marks covered the hard concrete floor. The meeting table was blow apart. A quarter million dollars of electronics lay scattered about, utterly worthless now. Over by the main servers lay Sarah's limp body. She had obviously tried to find shelter, but was flung backwards by the blast. Blood was quickly forming in a puddle by her arm. Cradling her in his arms while applying pressure to her wound, Chuck began to lose control. "Sarah, please, come back. Oh my god! Come on, I know you can do it. Do it for me. Please!" The wailing of sirens grew louder. Chuck's ears were still ringing from the blast, making the quiet deafening. Ripping off a part of his shirt, he wound a makeshift bandage around Sarah's mangled shoulder. From above, he saw the SWAT team entering the premises. "Hands up and hit the floor!" one of the soldiers hollered. Chuck ignored the orders, drawing Sarah to his chest. "Sarah, no! no! no!"

"Get on the ground NOW!"

He turned to face them, tears streaming down his face. "We've got all the time in the world… All the time in the world." His voice trailed off. Gazing down at her face, he realized how angelic she looked. As he brushed Sarah's singed bangs out of her face, she stirred ever so slightly. She weakly squeezed his hand, opening her eyes. A wave of joy passed over Chuck. She was alive. And that was all that mattered. A weak smile crossed her face as she whispered, "I love you Chuck."

-----

The next few hours were all a blur. Carina was pronounced KIA within minutes of the backup's arrival. Sarah was airlifted to Westside Medical Center, and underwent surgery to remove a four-inch piece of shrapnel from her left clavicle. Chuck went with her, leaving Casey to sift through the rubble of the base.

Chuck gazed out the window, watching the orange sun slowly descended below the far horizon. He could hardly believe what had happened. Frankly, he was still in shock. Chuck squirmed in the waiting room chair. Waiting was the worst part, he decided, because everything hung in the balance. This time tomorrow, Sarah could be gone. Forever. Fact of the matter was, Chuck had always seen Agent Walker as being invincible. And given her track record, who could blame him. No matter how sticky the situation, team Bartowski had always come out unscathed. His train of thought was interrupted by Awesome's appearance.

"How did the surgery go? Is she gonna be ok? When can I see her?" Chuck bombarded the surgeon with a flurry of questions.

"Bro, let's sit down." Devin said calmly. As soon as he said that, Chuck's face fell. "What man? I've been standing for three hours operating on your girlfriends shoulder, and you get disappointed when I want to sit down?"

Chuck managed to crack a tiny smile, which quickly faded. "How is she Devin?"

"Look man, the debris that was lodged in her arm came out fine, and the bullet barley missed her major nerves. It did nick her left Subclavian artery, and she lost a lot of blood, but thanks to you, she's gonna be fine."

Relived, Chuck promptly gave his brother-in-law a giant hug. "Wow! Dude! Group hug! She's not awake yet but you can see her if you wan-"

"Chuck cut his short, quickly rising to his feet."Let's go."

-----

Chuck quietly drew up a chair next to her bed and sat down. He gazed at her face; Sarah's expression was serene. He slowly took a hold of her left hand, and began to rub it softly. Lost in his thoughts, Chucks eyes drifted down to the ring. Even after all that, it was still on her finger, as bright and beautiful as the day he bought it. "You know," He began softly, "This ring is a lot like you. Even after all you've been though, you're still as beautiful as the day I met you. Nothing's ever going to change that. I'm really glad you're ok." He laughed quietly. "That's the biggest understatement I've ever heard! You mean everything to me. And more. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you today, I was too busy involved in my own world. Sometimes, you don't realize how amazing something is until it's nearly taken away from you. But I promise, from this day forward, I will never take you for granted. I can't afford to." The doors to the hospital room slid open.

"Look Chuck, this isn't your fault. It's mine."

"Casey?"

"While I was filling my incident report, I kept thinking about you guys. So, I figured I may as well be here."

"You don't have to do this you know." Chuck said, Still surprised that Casey cared enough to drop by.

"Well I had this nasty cut on my forehead that needed to get checked out… But seriously. You guys are, like family to me. Even with all your annoying quirks, I wouldn't be able to do this without you Bartowski."

"Wait, so you, you _care_ about us?" Chuck was purely baffled by this latest revelation.

"Of course I do. You can be a dufus sometimes, but you're a loveable dufus. And frankly, Walker is the best partner I've ever had. Period. We make a good team." Then Casey stood and did something unexpected. "Hang in there Bartowski." He said, hugging Chuck. "Call me when she wakes up. I gotta go explain this shit to the general."

"Need a hand?"

"I got it, and Sarah needs you here. No worries man."

"Thanks, Casey" As the gruff agent disappeared down the hallway, Chuck resumed his post at Sarah's side. It was going to be a long night.

-----

It had been eight hours since Sarah had come out of surgery. The sun's first rays of light played across Sarah's face. And then, her eyes opened.

"Welcome back, sleepyhead." Chuck grinned. "Casey sends his regards." Sarah smiled groggily.

"Oh, and best part of this whole thing is, once you are up and about, you can whoop Lemery's ass all you like. I somehow managed to grab those guys after the bomb went off."

Sarah touched his arm. "Anybody every told you that you talk a lot when your excited?" Chuck ran his fingers though her golden blonde hair. "Maybe, maybe not."

"I can never get a straight answer out of you, can I?" She teased.

"Well, I'm glad that you still have your sense of humor sweetie." He bent down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Hey bucko, you're my fiancé, not my cousin, kiss me properly or I'll clobber you!" As their lips touched, electricity passed between them. Sarah wouldn't let him go. Finally, Chuck had to come up for air. His eyes twinkled with delight.

"Sarah Walker, you are an amazing woman."

"I know."

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_So, there ya go! Kinda different ehh? I've got the general gist of the rest of the story planned out, and this mother gonna be long! But as you have probably already noticed, each chapter usually ties up most of the loose ends, which facilitates my sporadic writing schedule. And Chuck managed to save the day with Ice cream WOOT. Yeah, I know, this segment has some giant plot-holes, but they will get tied up eventually(I think). PLEASE Review! I would like to be able to improve my writing, and if nobody criticizes me it's harder to do that. Of course I'm not going to turn down compliments, but ya know… Also! I'm in DESPRATE need of Beta readers! PM me or contact me __ (subject line: Chuckvsjourney) if you would be willing to help out. Look for another chapter on either the 11__th__ or 12__th__. And just FYI, according to , Chuck is a 96% lock for renewal. May 19__th__ cannot come soon enough!_

_Thank you for all your support an encouragement, I hope your enjoying this journey._

_Until next time, may your Nerds be helpful, and your computers not crash!_


	6. Interlude

Chapter 6: Interlude

"Agent Casey, we have a situation."

"I'm well aware of that general. Castle has been compromised, and for the most part, rendered inoperable. I think we need to withdraw and regroup. The ring is getting too close for comfort."

"Very well, inform agent Bartowski that he's on the next plane back to DC. Wheels up at 2200."

Casey hesitated. _Was he really going to do this?_ "General, Bartowski needs a break. In fact, he hasn't really had one since he downloaded the Intersect, almost three years ago. I think it would be in our best interests if he was given some time off."

"Major, you know as well as I do that we could need him at any time. Frankly, we can't afford to give him a break."

"Good luck prying him away from walker." Casey mumbled.

The General was becoming increasingly annoyed. "What was that Casey?"

_Screw it all,_" General, since Walker incurred injuries, Chuck has been by her side. He hasn't eaten, or slept, or left her hospital room. There is no way he will be willing to be transferred to DC; not now at least."

"I couldn't care less about the asset's personal issues. Walker has been suspended pending a medical release, and she is no longer charged with protecting the asset. Frankly, her return to Team Bartowski is unlikely. This team has given me nothing but trouble."

_I cannot believe I'm doing this for him,_ Casey thought. "General, treat the asset like a human being for once. This country managed to survive for 200 years without an Intersect; surely the brass can cope for a week."

If looks could kill, Casey would be deader than a doornail.

"Major Casey. This is the second time this month that your team has asked for special treatment. And frankly, I don't really care what's good for you or your team. The Intersect will be in my office by dawn."

And with that, the TV in Casey's living room faded to black. Visibly frustrated, Casey leaned back in his chair and took another swig from a nearby bottle of scotch. As much as he hated to admit it, beneath the thick shell was a compassionate person. He could really relate to Bartowski, in fact. Casey's dad left when he was young, a move that emotionally devastated those he loved. Casey's personal life had been put aside countless times, to put his countries' best interest above his own had become all too expected. His eyes drifted down to the cell phone sitting on his desk.

------

"You know, this food could be used as a weapon in some countries."

Chuck snapped out of his daydream, struggling to come up with an appropriate response, given the fact that he had no idea what Sarah was talking about.

"Really? That's surprising."

"We really need to work on your subconscious listening sweetie, otherwise…" Sarah's comment was interrupted by Chuck's cellphone. "Now who could that be?" Chuck wondered aloud.

"I'm guessing Morgan, he hasn't called for like two hours," Sarah laughed.

"Casey?!"

"Bartowski, where did that bearded buffoon go on holiday?"

"Uhh, he went to Hawaii."

"Hang on a second," Casey grumbled. "There. Walker's to be transferred to Straub Hospital in Honolulu at 8 pm."

Chuck was officially confused. "What the heck is going on Casey?"

"General wants you back in DC at o-dark-thirty tomorrow-"

Chuck cut him off "But I can't leave Sarah!"

"I tried to get you some vacation time, but the general wouldn't even consider it. So, you're going to be going to Hawaii without permission. I'll take the fall for it. Just, take care of Walker ok?"

"Casey, I-I don't know what to say. Thank you. But I can't let you take the fall for this. When do I leave for DC?"

" 2200. Hey dumbass! I just gave you a get out of jail free card. Take it!"

Chuck grinned. "Later man!" As Chuck closed the phone, his mind was filled with conflicting emotions. His heart wanted to stay with Sarah, but the general's long-standing threat still rang in his ears: "If your relationship with Walker causes ANY problems, and don't give a fuck what you want, operation Bartowski is OVER! " And that simply wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

"Well?! What was Casey calling about?" Sarah asked apprehensively.

"You're being transferred, due to the severity of your injuries." Chuck was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Sarah glanced at her bandaged shoulder. "It's not _that_ bad!"

Chuck shook his head. "The doctors say your wound could be deadly if not given the proper treatment. In light of that fact, you're going to go on a little trip."

Sarah looked at Chuck skeptically. His face was grim, but he had that mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes. "What's this magical cure?"

"I'm not sure, but they can only administer this particular treatment in the tropics. Something about sand, sun and fruit flavored beverages. And you can't say no."

Sarah smiled. "You mean you're taking me on that vacation?"

Chuck sighed and stared at the floor.

"Sorry. I, I can't come with you. I got some stupid thing in DC tomorrow morning." Sarah's smile faded as quickly as it had formed. "Oh. I should have known." She sighed and turned away from him.

"What? How can I say no when I don't have a choice? Orders are orders. Don't you remember that the general is all too happy to split us up?" He put his hand on her shoulder, wishing there was a way that everything could work out. "Look, don't think for a second that I WANT to go to DC. But what choice do we have? If I don't go, you'll be on a plane to god-only-knows-where before Casey could grunt."

Sarah turned to face him again her eyes slowly meeting his. "I know, I just wish…" her voice trailed off. A long silence filled the room.

"You know what?" Chuck pulled out his phone, a look of determination on his face.

Sarah quickly backtracked, "No, Chuck, its ok. I'll be fine." She grabbed his hand forcing him to look at her. "Seriously Chuck, please don't."

But once a Bartowski made up it's mind, it was like trying to stop a freight train. Chuck continued, avoiding her pleading eyes.

" You, Casey, Morgan, Awesome, ahh here we go! I have her listed in my phone as 'that giant pain in the butt'." Sarah couldn't help but smile nervously at his irreverence to military authority.

"Hello? Yes this is Agent Carmichael; I'd like to speak with General Beckman. No, I don't care if she's in a meeting." He was gaining energy, his frustration becoming visible. "No, I will not hold; if you don't put me on with her in the next three seconds I'm going to- fine. Thank you." _Some people_ Chuck muttered.

"Chuck, don't do this, it's ok."

"No, it's not ok, work has kept us apart long enough, and I'm not going to stand for it anymore." He massaged her hand, "I'm going to work this out- Hello General!"

"I was in a meeting with the joint chiefs!" Beckman was furious. "This better be important or-"

"Or what? You'll treat me like crap? Oh, wait, you already do that. Listen I thought you'd like to know that I'm taking some 'personal' time" He glanced at Sarah.

"You can't do that without my permission Bartowski!"

"Right... Anyway, I won't be answering this phone for about a week. Oh and General, I'll see you in DC next Thursday." As Chuck ended the call, Sarah could hear "Bartowski! You're coming to DC! That's an order!" Chuck was grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, I think she's ok with it, so we're golden!"

"You, Mr. Bartowski, are a rebel!" Chuck ran his fingers though her hair.

"Some things are just more important that work"

------

_Welcome to sunny Honolulu! Please remain seated until we taxi to the gate. On behalf of our flight crew, I'd like to thank you for flying United._

"See? Now that wasn't so bad."

"Hardly! I still hate landings!"

Chuck couldn't believe he was doing this; taking a vacation. Without permission from the general. There defiantly would be hell to pay when he returned to LA. But hey, if Casey wanted to get rid of him, who was Chuck Bartowski to stand in the way?

As they strolled hand-in-hand down the concourse, Chuck glanced at Sarah. She had only looked happier when Chuck proposed. He couldn't help but smile at the 'perfect couple' they had become. Sarah caught the smile out of the corner of her eye.

"And just what are you grinning at?"

"Nothing. Just us."

"Ahh, the romantic geek in its prime habitat."

"You think I'm a romantic?"

Sarah giggled. "Well, let's see here; you have tried multiple times to convince killers not to kill you, you think that Morgan actually has a chance as a Bennihanna chef, and you managed to come up with a plan to get Casey out of your hair long enough to pop the question. So yeah, you're a romantic."

"Oh. Well if you put it like that-" Chuck was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. "It's Casey. That can't be good." Chuck dropped his suitcase by a chair and sat down.

"Hey Casey, what's up?"

"Bad news Bartowski, Beckman's breaking the team up."

Chuck's smile disappeared almost instantly. "What?!"

"Yeah. I'm heading up a mission to Columbia. And given Walker's injury, it looks like you won't be going along. You're going to be back in DC providing tactical support."

"Whatever. When do you leave?"

"Well, more to the point, I need you and Walker in DC in three days. Sorry to cut your vacation short, but there's nobody else I'd rather have watching my back."

"I think you're going soft on me Casey!"

Casey grunted "talk to you later dork!"

-----

"You know, I should really buy Morgan an elevator as a house-warming gift!" As they ascended the fifth flight of stairs in the giant apartment complex, the invincible agent Bartowski was running out of steam.

"Forget that! You need that money to take me out someplace expensive!" Sarah jabbed him playfully in the ribs.

"What?!" Chuck feigned annoyance. "_I_ have to take _you_ somewhere nice? Sheesh, why is it about money with your gender?"

Sarah grinned "Well, remember that I only said yes _after_ you got that giant paystub from the government. You better watch your back; I might try to make a getaway with your money!"

"Here we go, Apartment 515." Chuck cleared his throat.

" poSmoH Dung*!"

From behind the door, Morgan responded, " 'Iv pa**'"

"lIj loDnI' Daq veS***"

" ghaj SoH qempu' be'pu****'"

A look of horror crossed over Sarah's face. She quickly interjected: "poSmoH lojmIt qaSpa' jIH lIj qab Daq!*****" Chuck was floored. Sarah knew what they were saying. All of it. This was _bad_. (see translation at the bottom of the story for _why_ it's so bad!)

The door flew open. "Chuck!" Morgan flew into Chuck's open arms. "Great to see you buddy! And you brought Sarah! Exactly when did she learn klingon?"

"I have my ways."

Morgan looked puzzled. "Right. Come on into my humble abode you two!"

------

For a Morgan cave, the apartment was actually pretty well organized. Matching décor, washed dishes, and a lack of dirty clothing strewn about was not the Morgan he knew.

"This place looks nice and tidy, Anna's gotten into you huh?" Chuck grinned.

"Oh man you have no idea! I swear she's trying to kill me." Morgan turned quickly towards Sarah. "If you do this," He gestured wildly at his now-tamed living space, "to Chuck, it will kill me. Spare the man, my dear lady."

"I don't know Morgan, that's a pretty tall order! But I do still have that list of things that have to go!" Sarah could feel Chuck's grip on her waist get tighter. "Right honey?" She gave him her best bambi eyes, and Chuck's heart melted. "Well, I guess I had to get rid of the Tron poster someday." He sighed. "I wasn't talking about the Tron poster, honey. I was more thinking of those drums on your headboard…"

Morgan was watching the proceedings, irreverently grinning. "You two! _SO_ cute." Me managed to tear himself away to go fetch himself a grape soda. "You guys want anything?"

"Two Iced teas waiter. One with sugar, one without. Aww heck, I'll come get em'."

"So buddy, how's the whole knife-skills thing working out for ya?" Chuck asked, noting the lack of string cheese in Morgan's fridge.

"Well, I haven't lost any fingers yet so that's gotta be good right? Seriously though, I've been taking this class and, well, it's a lot harder than it looks!" When they returned to the living room, refreshments in hand, Chuck sat down next to Sarah, while Morgan began to pace back and forth in front of them, his arms forming wild gestures as he talked. "This whole, learning thing is new to me. Ya know? My whole life I've tried to do as little work as possible, and now I want to succeed."

"Ahh, having trouble shedding your work ethic? I think the rest of our generation went through that about, oh, I dunno, ten years ago." Chuck grinned. Morgan was finally growing up.

"Aww be quiet, we both know that I'm special like that! But seriously, I wish I had like a mentor or something, cuz this stuff is hard."

" A Konjo I huh? That's a nice knife." Sarah had just noticed the large adornment on the bookshelf. "Expensive though."

"Yeah, she's my pride and joy." Morgan walked over and took it delicately out of its stand. "We're gonna do great things one day."

Sarah couldn't contain herself any longer. He was using absolutely horrible posture. "No Morgan, don't hold it like that! Here, let me show you. See? This is much better technique. Easier on your wrist when you do this." With a flourish, she tossed the knife into the air, and caught it again, twirling it around her finger.

Morgan looked stunned. "Dude! You like, know what you're doing! Since when are you into knives?" Chuck grinned, knowing full well that she probably had half a dozen of them strapped to her leg at that very moment. Suddenly, he remembered that Morgan didn't know.

_Shit! What have you got yourself into this time walker? Think! Think! Where could you have learned?_ Sarah was frantically trying to come up with a plausible answer. "When I lived in Chicago, I worked at Lowry's. Carving steaks for two years does that to you." She glanced at Chuck, who was trying admirably to not burst out laughing. "Anyway, I can show you a couple of things, if ya want."

Morgan's eyes lit up. "Really? That would be great! My setup is just over here. It's just that I've never been that great around sharp objects and…"

Their voices became faint, leaving Chuck alone in the sitting room. He walked out onto the back balcony, beverage in hand, and gazed at the horizon. If you would have told him six months ago that he would willingly be working for the government, Chuck wouldn't have believed a word of it. Then again, his life _had_ changed a lot in the past couple years. About the only thing that hadn't changed was Morgan. Well, that wasn't true either; arguably he had changed the most. And yet, even here in Hawaii, perusing his dreams, Morgan was still that shy, awkward kid with the dirty sense of humor. Some things never change.

Chuck was so enveloped in his train of thought that he did not notice the shadowy figure creeping up behind him. Slowly it bent down to reach for a weapon.

THWACK

"Good grief Sarah! At least give me some warning next time!" Chuck said, trying to regain his composure.

"Aww, but that's no fun! Besides," she continued, removing a knife from between chucks legs, "If I had told you in advance, you would have pulled a Morgan." Chuck grinned sheepishly.

"Fine, but if you damage the produce, you'll have nobody to blame but yourself!" Sarah smiled.

" I'll get you a refill. Be right back!" Sarah giggled as she waltzed back into the kitchen, passing Morgan on his way to the balcony. Promptly he grabbed Chuck by the shoulders, their height difference now blatantly obvious. "You marry her! You marry her now! Marry her!^"

"Way ahead of you buddy. But it's nice to know that you're willing to give me up."

"We can still be friends right?"

"As opposed to what, Morgan?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." Chuck decided now would be a great time to change the subject, away from this awkward conversation they had already had a few times before.

"So, I see that Anna's weaned you off of your string cheese habit. I didn't even think that that was possible!"

"Neither did I! But, if you leave cheddar sitting out for awhile, it's quite similar."

"Really? I'm pretty sure that if that was true, you would have figured that out long ago."

Morgan grinned sheepishly. "Ok, fine. But sometimes you gotta make sacrifices for those you love, right? Leaving your comfort zone opens up a whole world of possibilities. And possibilities," he continued, taking a sip from his grape soda, "are good."

Sarah reappeared, making Chuck realize exactly what Morgan was talking about.

"Yeah, possibilities _are_ good."

-----

_A few days later, somewhere above the pacific ocean…_

The roar of the airplanes engines had lulled Chuck to sleep, his head resting comfortably on Sarah's good shoulder. Sarah, meanwhile was studying the watery landscape below, marveling at how much had changed in the last few years. When she had started this long journey, back in 2007, Sarah was still coping with Bryce's death. She could still remember that first day she walked into the buy-more. He was a nice guy, even to the casual observer. Sarah was convinced that Chuck had always had a crush on her; but then again, it seemed like every man she met did. She didn't realize that the feeling was mutual until that summer day on top of a warehouse.

Sarah and Casey had been busy infiltrating an empty warehouse, while Chuck was being held hostage. By the time they arrived to save Chuck, it was already too late. Only after she had cocked her gun did Sarah realize that their target was holding Chuck by the ankles dangling him off of the six story building. "It ain't worth it." The burly man said frankly, before letting go. At that very moment, as she saw Chuck's converse sneakers disappearing from view, she realized how much Chuck meant to her. She just stood there, stunned. After losing a brutal fight with a man twice her size, Sarah knew that this was the end. Some people say that life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die. At that moment, all she could think about was what could have been, what should have been. They had gone on their first real date only the night before, and now within a matter of moments, they would both be dead. But, as always, when she had given up all hope, Chuck himself, leading a SWAT team, burst onto the roof. All she wanted was to throw her arms around him and kiss him, right then and there.

Chuck had something Bryce didn't. Bryce was always an agent first, accomplishing the goal no matter the cost. He could love, but he never really showed it beneath his cold, hard, spy-like, emotions. Chuck on the other hand, always put other people's well-being before his own. That coupled with his girlish screams in the face of an unseen foe made him quite simply irresistible… A pang of pain shot through her shoulder, returning her to reality.

"Life is good," She whispered. And for the first time, Sarah actually believed herself.

-----

"Nice to see you again agent Bartowski, agent Walker, right this way" The General seemed miffed, but at least they showed up.

"So, General, what exactly will Sa- Walker and I be doing?" Chuck chided himself for slipping up, glancing at Sarah.

"You two will be leading a team providing tactical support for Major Casey's squad, acting as their eyes and ears. I have a meeting with brass in three minutes," She continued, speedily navigating the narrow hall of the pentagon.

"You could really get lost in here." Chuck mumbled in awe.

The general stopped in front of a battered steel door labeled 'Janitorial 03' "Here we are, make yourselves at home agents; you'll be spending a lot of time in here!"

______________________________________________________

_And there we go! Kind of a nice diversion that sets up chapter 7, and ultimately chapter 8, which will change Chuck's life again. Besides, I had to work Morgan in here somehow, and the idea of having Sarah teach Morgan to use knives was too tempting. References to Lethal weapon (we can still be friends), First date (scene on the roof), Cougars (Sarah working at Lowry's), and Marlin (Morgan's grape soda habit). Hopefully the next few chapters of this story will come out quicker, too me a long time to decide whether to use the vacation angle or not. __**PLEASE R&R**__.I don't mean to be a pain, but it's really nice to know that somebody enjoys my work. More reviews- Quicker chapter releases. And, I am looking for Beta readers still, PM me if your interested. _

_Chuck news update: __**Chuck returns to NBC on Feb 19, at 8/7C**__. Rumor is that Sarah will be working at Subway as part of a major sponsorship deal._

_Klingon translation, and Scrubs reference below:_

_*Open up._

_**Who goes there._

_***your brother in war._

_****Have you brought women?_

_*****Open the door before I smash your face in!_

_^ 'Scrubs' fans will remember this as Turk's reaction to Kylie after she correctly identified three spinoffs of the sitcom "happy days" [.com/watch?v=Law3j3QPU3E]_

_So, until next time, may your nerds be helpful, and your computers not crash._


	7. Hard Landings

_Somewhere over Columbian Airspace:_

"One minute to DZ, rear doors opening."

"Roger that CP, commencing final jump checklist" Casey pulled his goggles and helmet on, drawing himself up off the bench into a standing position. He surveyed his eleven-man crew, and adjusted his facemask. He had been on pure oxygen for two hours, and would continue to be until he hit the ground. It was a necessary precaution when jumping from 30,000 feet, as any nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream during the 3 minute freefall would cause major injury. This was it. Casey's first jump since he joined operation moron. Best of all, the geek wouldn't be jumping with him! Then again, that meant that Walker wouldn't be either. He took one last look around the interior of the C-130 as the rear doors opened.

"Airspeed 130, clear skies. Nice evening for a jump."

The giant aircraft groaned as it was slowed down in preparation for Casey's hasty exit.

" 30 seconds. Initiate jump sequence. Happy landings from your CP." With that, the rest of the team rose, and formed a line to the back of the plane.

"Gear check! Make sure the man in front of you is good to go!" Casey yelled, over the roar of the engines.

"HOORAH SIR! CREW IS READY FOR DEPARTURE!" The doorman was holding his arm out, the signal to wait. As soon as that arm pointed towards the outside world… The red interior lights of the cargo bay turned green; Casey turned away from the opening, and let himself tumble into space.

-----

Heavy steel doors swung aside, revealing a room roughly the size of buymore. Arched wall supports, high ceilings, and a downward-sloping floor gave the dimly lit room an even bigger presence. The windowless walls were covered with charts and maps of the target. Live satellite and thermal images were streaming up on monitors on the far wall. Chuck let out a gasp of awe as he marveled at the_ three_ 95 inch flat screens mounted at the front of the room.

Beckman led them to an enormous wrap-around desk at the rear and pronounced flamboyantly "here is your new workspace." She fiddled with a nearby PA microphone. "Please welcome to your new boss, Senior Agent Bartowski." The desk provided a sweeping view of the room outstretched before them, as it faced that front monitors.

When the general's curt soon as this announcement was made, the tactical support team promptly stood, and gave a large round of applause. "Now, back to work," The general snapped, visibly annoyed by the warm greeting, "They should be in the air by now ."

The majority of the floor space was filled with rows after row of desks, at which were seated well-nigh 30 people. "This," the general continued, "is your team. On your desks, there is a briefing outlining the details of your assignment. You should be informed and ready to go in ten minutes. As soon as Major Casey's team hits the ground, you will be in the spotlight. Screw this up, and Agent Walker's temporary suspension will become a dishonorable discharge. And you," she said pointing to Chuck, "will be in a 6x10 cell before you can say 'bite me'. Agent Barker will be working alongside you to assist Agent Casey. He will fill you in on the details. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm late for meeting. " The general turned on her heel, and quickly disappear from view. Chuck turned towards Sarah with a look of concern on his face.

"Well, to summarize; No pressure, feel free to goof off"

"Chuck! It's good to see you again!" A heavily accented voice startled him, ending his fear stricken stupor.

"Well, if it isn't my old friend Cole Barker!" The two associates shook hands warmly. "How's the shoulder?"

"Good as new!" Cole replied, grinning broadly. "How's the, errm, leg?"

"Well, it's been almost 6 months, so I'm guessing its fine." Chuck laughed

"Agent Bartowski, sir, I think you should see this." A voice called out from the front of the room.

"Excuse me for a moment." Chuck grinned sheepishly.

As Chuck disappeared out of earshot, Cole's eyes came to rest on the other agent nearby. "Dr. Walker, it's a pleasure to meet you again." As he brought her hand to his lips, he couldn't help but notice the new adornment on the ring finger.

"The pleasure is all mine, Cole, how have you been?"

"Well, not as good as I am right now, but I see you've been busy."

Sarah smiled sweetly, "Well you did tell him never to take no for an answer, you know."

"So I did. I really should stop giving other people advice! By the way, I heard about the incident down at Castle. I swear to you I never told fulcrum anything."

"I trust you Cole" she said, taking a seat at the large desk before her, "and I know for a fact that you would never ham me. I hope your ok with being 'just friends'."

"It would be an honor to call you my friend, Sarah, just as it is to call him my friend." Cole pointed to Chuck, who was jogging up the center aisle towards them.

"They just jumped." he said, putting on his headset. That gives me three minutes to read over this memo…"

------

Casey looked out at the landscape around him. There was not a cloud in the sky to be seen for miles. From up here, the stars were shining brightly, brighter than he had ever seen them before. As the team grouped back together in the air, Casey checked his altimeter. 13,000 feet to go. He silently prayed that Bartowski and Walker were in the command post. Slowly, the ground below came into greater detail, revealing rugged terrain of the Columbian jungle.

"Landing's gonna be a bitch sir!" one of the Jumpers mused.

"Damn straight corporal, let's hope we can get lucky"

----

"Sir, we may have a problem." Chuck looked up from his memo with annoyance. Less than a minute left and he still had no clue what he was doing.

"What seems to be the problem Lieutenant?"

"Well sir," The man began, pointing to the large screen at the front of the room, "There has been quite a bit of activity in the enemy camps in the last few minutes. I think they've sniffed us out somehow."

"How can that be? The only way they could know we were coming is if they had advanced radar."

"That's just it sir, we've scanned the entire base and there were no ping-signal traces at all. I can't think of any current equipment that can do that."

Sarah, overhearing their topic of conversation, quickly joined in. "The Russian-made PRV-11 can."

Chuck swiveled his chair a full 180 degree to face Sarah. "How the heck did you know that?"

"Sir, we really should warn the jumpers."

"Fine! Establish a line of contact with Colonel Casey ASAP."

"Sir!" Another voice shouted from the front of the room. "We have targets massing around the perimeter of the LZ"

Chuck jumped out of his chair. "Shit! LT Macey, I want that com line open NOW!"

"Working on it sir!"

"That's not good enough! They'll be in range in less than thirty seconds!"

-----

"Allright guys, spread wide. Deployment in 20 seconds." This was the crucial part of the jump sequence. One thing goes wrong up here, and the whole mission goes south. In less than half a minute, they would be opening their parachutes and lining up for landing. All it took was one little mistake…

Casey's headset crackled to life

"Black Arrow! W- --ve a -ode 7." Chuck's voice kept cutting in an out, due to heavy enemy jamming.

"Didn't copy HQ, say again please."

"Da--it Ca---! The LZ is --- I repeat, --- -- is hot." Casey suddenly felt a pit form in his stomach. The enemy knew they were there, and they were waiting.

"I'm getting a lot of interference HQ, switching to 3.7 ghz frequency."

"Rog—that Arrow, Stan---- by." Casey reached for the tuning knob, just below his altimeter. As he began setting it, he glanced at the altimeter. [3,000 ft]. Another pang of fear hit him. They were supposed to extend chutes 1,000 feet ago. "Pull chutes! I repeat, pull chutes! Divert course to LZ2. Hang on boys, we're goin' in hard!"

-----

"Damnit , Casey, get on the frequency! Cole, what do we have for air support in the area?"

"Two f-16's are about 10 minutes out, with sidewinders and bunker busters. Their evac chopper is 40 minutes away, so that rules out any hope of scooping them up again."

"I thought there was a C-130 gunship too?!"

"There _is_," Sarah explained, "but it's currently refueling. If they broke away right now, they would be overhead in ten, but only have enough fuel for 3 minutes of air cover. Right now we're looking at twenty minutes, minimum."

"Crap! Hodges, tell the F-16's to use their afterburners! We need them overhead stat! Carter! Start pinpointing targets for air support. But MAKE SURE the package stays intact! Cole, get on the horn with air control on the _Enterprise_. See if they can scramble a sortie together. Sarah, call Beckman and inform her of the situation. Everybody else, continue your assignments."

"LZ2 is clear sir!"

"I'll alert Casey if he ever gets on an uninterrupted communication channel!"

"Goddamnit Casey" Chuck mumbled rubbing his sweaty palms together, "come in!"

-----

Casey was franticly going through his post-inflation checklists, making sure the entire crew was falling safely.

"Oh shit!" He suddenly remembered. "The radio! Wilson! Make sure everybody is a go!"

"I'm on it sir!" Casey once more fiddled with the knob on his sleeve, watching as the ground got closer.

"HQ, this is Black Arrow, do you copy, over?"

Through his earpiece he heard Chuck's terse response."About frickin' time! LZ2 is green. I repeat, LZ2 is clear." Sarah then came on, with a tinge of frustration in her voice. "Alter course to heading 026 and slow your rate of decent if possible. Be aware that air support should be in the vicinity shortly, and they will be squawking on this same frequency."

"Copy that HQ, interference seems to have decreased on this channel. What's the timetable on that air support?"

"Five minutes max. Hang in there Casey!"

"Sir! Everyone is good to go!"

"Thanks, Wilson. Stack pattern! Follow my lead!"

As his decent continued, Casey glanced at his GPS. The LZ should be right in front of him. But where the hell was it?

"Anybody got eyes on the LZ?"

"Nope."

"Negative Sir!"

"HQ, we do not have visual on the landing zone, please advise."

"You won't see it till you're on it Colonel, hang tight."

"That's not very comforting, HQ" Casey had a really bad feeling about this. The ground came closer and closer. He looked at his altimeter. [100ft] Just as he was about to hit a tree, the jungle gave way to an open, flat area, approximately 1000 feet square.

"HQ, this is Black Arrow, LZ2 is in sight, on final approach." Only feet above the ground, Casey pulled down hard on his chute cords, flaring the parachute. With a whoosh, he settled onto the ground, managing to land upright.

"One down" he yelled, as he moved out of the way of his incoming companions. "Setting up a secure perimeter."

"Two down!" Wilson shouted, joining Casey on the ground.

"Three down!"

"OOOF Four down!" As man after man landed, Casey stepped out of his harness. "Spread out! I want three-hundred-and-sixty degrees of coverage!

"Eleven down! All present and accounted for sir!"

"HQ, all personnel are on the ground, safe and sound."

-----

Back at the pentagon, when Chuck heard Casey's words, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good to hear Casey. That air support should be overhead any minute now."

"Hey, Chuck, Enterprise is sending a strike team along with the extraction package. Should be in local airspace in about… thirty minutes."

"Thanks' Cole, Colonel, you copy that?"

"Roger, what's the surrounding area look like?"

Sarah spoke up. "The pre-determined secondary route to the objective has yet to be compromised, but don't hold your breath. Thermals show a high enemy presence around the package. Be careful."

"10-4, moving towards the tar-" The line abruptly went dead.

Concern once more crossed over Chuck's features. "Black Arrow, this is HQ, come in please." No answer. "Black Arrow, do you copy?"

"Sir! I just lost contact with those F-16's!"

"Our thermal sensors just went blank!"

Pretty soon it was apparent that any personnel within a 50 mile radius were unable to either transmit or receive messages. The entire room was in chaos, as Chuck's subordinates franticly scrambled to contact the 5 units lost in that circle. Finally, after a long silence from the big three (Chuck, Sarah and Cole), Cole decided to state the obvious.

"You better tell that strike team to pull off Chuck, before it's too late."

"But this is Casey we're talking about, not some random Special Forces dude! How can I tell them to turn around? Casey's blood would be on my hands?"

"Look, if they all go in there, chances are they won't be coming out. What would you rather have? 13 dead soldiers or three dozen?" After that comment was stated, Chuck took on a grim demeanor. His face was filled with determination. Sarah knew that look. And it wasn't good.

"You know what, I'd rather have zero. So that's how we'll play it. Cole, Order those planes back to the carrier. Sarah, you stay here. I'm grabbing the first flight down to the Enterprise. If I can't get Casey back, then I'll die trying. "As he was finishing this statement, Beckman burst into the room.

"To hell you will Bartowski! Not on my watch! I'm taking over this operation."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Chuck rose out of his chair slowly.

"You know what general?" He grabbed her shit by the collar and pinned her against the wall, raising her off her feet. "I couldn't care less about what you want. If you want to stop me, you're going to have to shoot me."

Sarah was taken aback. He had never been this upset, or violent for that matter. Anger flashed in his eyes. "Semper Fi, remember? I'm not leaving my men out there to die." Chuck dropped Beckman, and began to walk calmly towards the exit.

Sarah leapt out of her chair. "Chuck! Stop, don't do this!" She flew into his arms. All she could choke out was: "I can't loose you." Beckman and Cole just stood there. Shaken. As Chuck's eyes met Sarah's, all she could see was love. He tenderly wrapped his arms around her quivering body. "I'm sorry Sarah, but you know that I have to do this."

"No you don't!" The harshness of her yell chilled Chuck down to the bone. "If you go there, you'll never be the same again. You'll never be _my_ Chuck."

"If I don't go, I won't be able to live with myself." He looked at the general as Sarah buried her face in his chest. "And I can't live with a flag on my mantle. I'm begging you, if you love me, let Casey go."

"Sarah," Chuck said slowly, fingering her engagement ring, "You know I love you more than anything in the world; more than life itself. If it was you down there, I would do everything in my power to bring you home safe. I promise I'll come back."

"I know you will, but that's not what worries me. I want you to come back _alive_"

"I will."

She looked up at him, tear blurring her vision. "Promise?"

"I promise, Sarah Walker." A tiny smile crept across Sarah's features, as Chuck pushed her hair over her ear. "I love you." He whispered, as their lips slowly met. "But I have to go."

Sarah slowly disengaged from his warm embrace, and straightened his tie.

As he pulled away from her, their hands met one final time. Before he disappeared through the door, she whispered. "I love you too." And with those parting words, he was gone.

-----

_Chuck's getting OOC! But tis' for a reason, to be explained at a later date. _

_Reviews people! I live off of reviews! Reviews are handy, Reviews are nice, Reviews are my sugar and spice! Expect another chapter either today or tomorrow, I know this is a tough place to leave them. Needed more angst in this story, hopefully I didn't overdo it._


	8. Under Fire

_Sorry for the wait! I had to research the heck out of this chapter (approx 15-20 hrs of reading!), so most information on units and tactics is accurate (according to various books [8 of em!] and Wikipedia, the source of all misinformation). In addition, I'm trying to make this chapter interesting, but not make Chuck to OOC. I have a feeling I epic failed there, but so it goes… In addition, I realize that this chapter might bore some hardcore Chuck fans because it seems to be almost in an AU. (It's just Chuck in a strange environment for most of the chapter). To take the story where I want it to go, I must do that. _

_Some of you may recognize the name of Chucks #2, Soap MacTavish (he was the main character in COD), had to have the geek tie-in. Griggs(another main character in COD4 that tags along with Soap's unit) also makes an appearance later on. Note that I'm just borrowing their names so there's no background knowledge needed._

-----

The immense carrier deck gleamed in the hot, tropical sun. For miles in every direction, the only thing that met the eye was water. Like a city in the midst of a desert, the flotilla's presence was commanding, even intimidating. As the deck crews rushed about, prepping the choppers for takeoff, a group of Special Forces soldiers sat grouped together, in the shade of the control tower, intently listening to their final briefing from the squad leader.

"Let me begin by saying that I cannot force you to go in this mission. It would be totally understandable if you don't want to go. In fact, if any of you would not like to go on the mission, feel free to leave, no strings attached. There is a high-probability that we will not return to this deck, or to our homes and families." He paused, giving his men time to think. But not a single man budged.

"All right then. Let's get down to business. As I said before, we will not have any air support whatsoever. No communication link with anyone. We have exactly 30 minutes to find the hostages, and bring them to the extraction point. If we aren't there by the time the choppers arrive, it's over. There are no second chances. I expect each and every one of you to look after your teammates, as if they were brothers. Give them noogies, if you must, to get into the part." A small ripple of laughter echoed across the flight deck, easing tense nerves.

"Bartowski, sir, the choppers are ready."

"Guys, let's do this! Can I get a hoorah?" The group jumped to its feet.

"HOORAH SIR!!"

"Five guys per chopper! Hustle!" Chuck grabbed his gear and jogged towards the lead helicopter. As he approached, the high-pitched whine of the engines turning over split the air. A shiver ran down his spine as he realized exactly what he was in for. As he took a seat in the doorway of the MH-60L Blackhawk, Chuck watched the pre-flight scurry of activity on the carrier. He couldn't help but wonder if this was the last time he would be in civilization. His second in command tossed his pack into the chopper and sat down beside him.

"How ya holdin' up, sir?"

"Sergeant, I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. Is it supposed to be like this?"

"That's usually how these things end up working, yes. Is it supposed to be like this? No. Just roll with the punches!" The whirring of the rotors grew louder and louder.

"Put on your headset sir!" MacTavish yelled about the noise of the plane. Once it was on, the noise of the rotors was equivalent to a tolerable roar. Slowly, the bird became airborne, lifting itself off the deck. Chuck watched in awe as the ground fell away below him, giving way to open ocean.

-----

"Sir, they just took off from the carrier, 10 minutes until we lose them on the radar."

"Thanks Hodges." The once busy control room was now dead silent. All eyes were affixed on the radar map at the front of the room. Two lone dots were marching together, slowly across the screen.

"HQ to Outlaw 27, come in."

"Copy that HQ, we read you loud and clear."

"Be careful out there, Chuck."

"This isn't about me, Cole, it's about Casey."

And with that, the communication line was filled with static. Cole took a deep breath, as he muttered under his breath, "Take care of yourself, Bartowski."

------

"Well, we just lost radio contact," Chuck said resignedly over the intercom. "How far away from the LZ are we?"

"20 minutes sir!"

The only sound was the constant pounding of the rotors, mainly because it drowned out all other noises. As the shoreline came into view, Chuck removed his helmet, and took one last look at a picture inside it. A ragged picture lay beneath the webbing, bringing back memories of happier days. It was a shot of Sarah, reclining on a Hawaiian beach, sipping a mi-ti, in a fashion that would make Roan proud. MacTavish couldn't help but gaze at the object of Chuck's undivided attention.

"Damn, sir, girlfriend?"

"Nah, fiancé."

"You are one lucky bastard!"

"Here's hoping that luck holds up, for all of us."

------

With one final movement, the two dots disappeared from the screen.

"Big bird, you are cleared for takeoff to Evacuation Point 1279. Once over target, Circle at 010 until at bingo fuel. Cleared to land on the USS Enterprise, Helipad 3."

"Roger that HQ, Big Bird is a go."

-----

Moments after the MH-60's became airborne, a single F-16 Super-Striker landed on deck. After taxing clear of the runway, the pilot descended to the flight deck.

"I need to speak to the Captain right now."

"Yes Ma'am, right this way.

-----

"30 Seconds to target."

Chuck nervously tried to crack a joke, his common defense in stressful situations. "Once we're down, feel free to get the hell outta here."

"That's the plan sir!" With one last fleeting glance at its contents, Chuck stuffed the helmet back onto his head.

"Ten seconds"

"Lock and load boys! Grab your gear!"

The two choppers descended to treetop level as they passed over the Columbian jungle. The wet ground was obscured by massive amounts of foliage. Up ahead, the towering jungle gave way to grassy swampland.

"There she is," Chuck mumbled to himself. "No turning back now!"

The choppers hovered mere feet above the reeds, causing them to wave spastically in the hurricane force winds. Without hesitation, Chuck dropped his pack into the swamp. He gave one final words of encouragement to his crew:

"Over the side! Let's go!"

And with that, he took a leap of faith, and jumped from the doorway, to the treacherous bog below.

-----

"Captain Horton sir, you have a visitor."

"This is not the time for playing around Corporal, I'm in the middle of-oh, good morning Ma'am what can I do for you?"

Sarah ignored the outstretched hand as she shook her hair out of the flightsuit. "Sarah Walker, CIA. It has come to my attention that you have a G3 HiFi receiver onboard your fine vessel. It could be invaluable to the mission at hand."

"We do, but it's currently in use-"

Sarah reached into her flight suit and pulled out a bundle of papers.

"Doesn't matter. Here is a conformation order from the General of the Army that mandates you give me access."

"You do realize that I'll have to check with my superiors back at Norfolk to make sure that they approve, right?"

"Sir, the lives of nearly a dozen men are on the line. The G3, if properly modified, could be used to re-establish a radar link with them, and, at the least, let us know where to retrieve their bodies. Do the right thing, give me access."

"Procedures are there for a reason! We can't just disregard them when they are inconvenient."

"Fine then," Sarah growled, a blue fire smoldering in her eyes. "Run it past your superiors, but I need access to that equipment ASAP." With that she turned on her heel and stormed out of the control room.

-----

Hardly a leaf rustled as the group moved towards their objective, an underground bunker complex run by the terrorist group "Kemi Kahma". Chuck ignored his growing state of fatigue, reminding himself why he was doing this. He looked down at the M-16 in his hands. Every muscle in his body screamed for him to drop the weapon and run, but his heart told him to press on.

His earpiece crackled to life as the lead element whispered, "Tango, 10-o'-clock high, eat dirt!"

In a single fluid motion, the entire team was flush with the rich, South American soil.

"Price, take the shot!"

A single, well aimed bullet whizzed over Chuck's head, and into the chest of their unknown enemy.

"Up and at em' guys, we don't have time to waste!" The heavy brush surrounding the complex was not making their difficult task any easier. In his mind, Chuck went over the plan he and Winston, a ten-year veteran of the force, had come up with only hours before.

The commander of any SF unit had an Emergency Distress Signal (EDS) locator beacon that would broadcast a distress signal anywhere within a twenty-foot radius. That meant that to find Casey, they would have to search throughout the entire base, and get within a short proximity of him. With the radicals on full alert, it would be like finding a needle in a flaming haystack. Once the colonel was found, hopefully in decent condition, the company would continue to search, unaided for the others. They had all of fifteen minutes to do so, before heading to the extraction point, where, hopefully, Helios would be awaiting them. Otherwise, they had a hundred mile hike to the border with Panama; and that was not a promising alternative to speed.

Chuck was holding the EDS scanner, and would be in charge of finding Casey. The rest of the 11-man group would "provide security". In plain English, they were the men charged with keeping Chuck alive long enough to find the Colonel. Quickly, the team moved through the dense jungle, in the general direction of a known insurgent camp. After a short time, Chuck's heart skipped a beat; he had a signal!

"Guys! I got Casey's location. It should be… right… about… here." They came to a halt in the middle of a clearing, standing out in stark contrast to the surrounding vegetation.

"I don't understand. According to his signal, he should be right here." Chuck became visibly frustrated, and raised his voice.

"Sir, keep it down, we don't need to let them know we're here"

To let out his frustration somehow, Chuck kicked at the dirt. "Wait a second!" He got down on all fours and began to move loose brush off the ground, revealing solid concrete. "Patterson! You got that jackhammer right?"

"Right here sir!"

"Good. Here's how were gonna do this-" the entire group began to remove the debris. "Turner, Lewis, Price, Bartlett and MacTavish, we're gonna make a helluva lotta noise, I want a perimeter setup ASAP. Vasquez, set up that jackhammer! Keating, Get your stuff ready, my guess is that a medic will be very useful."

Soon, the quiet of the jungle was shattered by the incessant pounding of the industrial jackhammer. The solid concrete began to crack and crumble as the metal spike took its toll. With one final groan, the roof gave way, sending a shower of pieces down onto the men below.

-----

"For the last time agent Walker, my superiors have told me not to allow you near the G3. We simply cannot take the risk that your modifications would hamper its capabilities. If you ask for permission one more time, I will personally make sure you never board another Navy vessel; eve r."

Sarah was stunned. She figured her incessant pleading would eventually get her somewhere, but all her efforts were in vain. The invincible Sarah Walker had run out of options; how often did that happen? She glanced at her watch. The helicopters only had 15 minutes before they had to return. To calm her racing nerves, she walked the length of the flight deck, pacing back and forth. Her eyes kept going to that ring on her finger. What if he didn't come back? Sarah had seen a tiny peek at the life she had always dreamed of, and now that it was within her grasp, the other shoe was about to drop.

"Come back to me Chuck. Please."

-----

From the hole, Chuck could hear shouting below: "!Abra a chicos de fuego, permiten matanza estos bastardos de rata!" Chuck ducked for cover as their AK-47's crackled to life.

"Return fire!" Chuck yelled above the noise of battle, "Demo up!"

Sgt. Vasquez, who was in charge of the teams precious few frag grenades quickly pulled the pin and tossed it through the newly formed entryway. "Fire in the hole!"

A resounding boom shook the forest floor. Smoke and debris flew through the air like firecrackers on the fourth of July. Chuck's normal reaction would have been to execute 'the Morgan' and high-tail it outta there. But not this time. He felt he could stop at nothing until he found what he was looking for. Grabbing his assault rife, Chuck scrambled towards the now gaping hole in the bunker.

"Alpha team on me! Bravo, cover our backs!" Almost automatically, he pulled down his night-vision goggles and climbed down into the subterranean vault, his men not far behind. The blast from the grenades had badly damaged the interior of the vault, knocking out more than a few walls. Large chunks of debris littered the floor, making movement difficult. Ignoring the mangled bodies littered about, Chuck began to zero in on Casey's signal once more.

From behind him, Chuck heard a joyful shout "Sir! Over here! I think I've found one of them!" Chuck moved as quickly as the confined space would allow, praying that it would be Casey. As he drew up next to Lt. Price, he could see a group of about six men, huddled together.

The smiles on their faces were irreproducible when Price triumphantly announced: "all right guys, we're your ticket home." Chuck scanned each face, but Casey was not among them. Above, MacTavish and his men were trying to fight off an ever increasing number of hostile forces. "Sir! We need to get out of here NOW! Can't hold out much longer up here!"

Chuck felt a growing lump in his throat, and considered his options. He could forget with Casey's transmitter and most likely make it back in time to catch a ride back to safety; to Sarah. However, if Casey were still alive, then he would be stuck, without any hope of rescue. He needed to make a decision fast, otherwise, it would be too late for all of them.

"Ok guys, get the PW's to the extraction point, I'm going to follow up on Casey's transmitter, and make sure we don't leave him behind."

"That's not such a good idea sir, for all we know, the colonel is dead." However, Chuck was already out of earshot, picking his way through the minefield of obstacles. He glanced at the EDSL's screen, praying for good news. "100 feet to go," he mumbled to himself, "I _can_ do this."

------

"See anybody near the extraction zone Griggs?" The twin Chinook MH-47E helicopters had been hovering for nearly five minutes, and the crews onboard were getting restless.

"Nada bro, not a sign of life."

"Fine." The pilot called back. "We'll give it a few more minutes, but that's it"

-----

Breathlessly, Chuck rounded a bend in the tunnel, and ran, almost headlong into a lone man. Before he could blink, he found himself pinned between the wall and his own knife.

"Tell me how to get away before I cut your slimy throat." In his exhaustion driven stupor, Chuck vaguely remembered that voice, but from where?

"I'm going to count to three, and by three you better have tol-"

"Damnit Casey, let me go! I came to get you out of here!"

The burly figure immediately released his hold.

"Chuck!?! What the Fuc-" For the second time in as many seconds, Chuck cut him off.

"Look, if we don't get to the extraction point in the next, five minutes, were both gonna be stuck here. Follow me!"

------

"Mac! I've got point! Cover our six!" As he reloaded his gun, Soap (MacT.) did a quick headcount. Noticing Chuck's absence, he called to Price. "Where the hell is our CO?! We need to go!"

"He's still in the tunnels; told us to leave without him!"

"You guys head to the choppers, I'll hold the enemy off as long as I can!"

-----

"Sir! I have orange smoke at 3-oclock! Set her down!"

"Roger that, hang on!" As the helicopter neared the ground, its rear doors slowly opened, letting fresh air into the cargo hold. With a lurch, the two birds simultaneously landed, and promptly began sinking in the soft earth. Small teams of marines set up nearby, to provide cover fire for the quickly retreating troopers. One of the SF operatives took Griggs by the arm and yelled in his ear, barely audible over the roar of the rotors. "We need to stay put for a few minutes longer! Our CO is still back there!" A look of concern crossed over Griggs face. "Better go talk to the pilot, I don't think we have much fuel to spare as it is!"

There was nothing worse than leaving a man behind. In fact, it was far better to die in the line of duty than to leave a brother soldier in harm's way. Nevertheless, sometimes you just didn't have a choice.

His headset woke him from his daydream. "Come on Griggs we're taking off!" Reluctantly he backed onto the loading ramp and sat down. As the helicopters began to get light on the ground, he kept his eyes fastened on the small trail where Alpha Company has appeared. Just as the aircraft lifted off, he thought he saw movement. Screaming into the headset, he alerted the pilots. " I have friendly's on the ground, set her down. I repeat friendly's without a ride." The aircraft stopped its upward track and quickly settled back onto the bog. Three figures were rapidly approaching, hotly perused by hostile forces. Attaching his harness to a D-ring in the floor, Griggs hopped off and began to give them covering fire. When the last man was just barely onboard, the chopper lifted off the ground, leaving the despairing enemy cursing below. As Griggs turned away from the closing rear doors, he found himself enveloped in a giant hug. Chuck just couldn't contain his emotions any longer. This complete stranger had put his neck on the line when it counted." Bro, when we get back stateside, the first round is on me." A smile flittered across Griggs's face.

"I'm gonna hold you to that sir, it's good to have you onboard."

"Yeah, I'll tell you what, it's even better to actually _be_ onboard!"

------

"Still nothing from big bird?" Cole was beginning to get anxious. They were supposed to be back inside the radar perimeter minutes ago. They would be running short on fuel, and being overloaded…

"Sir! They are back on radar!" Sure enough, two small blips were now moving across the screen, one far ahead of the other.

"HQ, this is Big Bird 1, Come in."

Cole quickly keyed his mic. "Big Bird 1 do you have the package?"

"Negative. We are down three persons at this point."

"HQ, this is Big Bird 2, just wanted to make a slight correction, over. All personnel are onboard and accounted for. But we're a couple of minutes behind BB1, over."

A Cheer erupted across the room. "Copy that BB2, happy landings! Contact Enterprise on 156.82"

-----

"Excuse me, Miss, but you're going to have to clear the deck, the extraction chopper is on final approach." When she heard those words, Sarah's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. In a few minutes, she would know Chuck's fate.

"Thank you, I'll get out of the way." In the distance, the heavy pounding of rotor blades could be heard, a sure sign that the boys were coming home. Therefore, the speck on the horizon grew larger, and larger until it was only a few hundred yards away from the carrier. In calm seas, the Chopper executed a perfect three-point landing. She began to power walk towards it, in a trancelike state. But as the men indie began to file out, with giant grins on their faces, she realized that neither Chuck nor Casey were on board. She swallowed hard, fighting back the tears. As the first choppers engines wound down, another's could be heard in the distance. There was still hope! It came up over the deck, and circled around the control tower before landing. Ignoring the blast from the rotor blades, Sarah began to fidget with impatience.

-----

"I can't believe you did that for me, you sonofagun." There was a giant smile on Casey's face when he clapped Chuck on the back. "I owe you big time."

"Aww nuts, Casey, I couldn't care less about your well being! The only reason I came out here to save your ass was because Beckman said, if the mission went south, Walker would be discharged."

Casey leaned back and let out a hearty laugh. "It figures!" As the rear doors opened, the soldiers crowded into the helicopter began to spill out onto the deck.

"Well, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go. I gotta go make a phone call." Chuck rose to his feet and began plodding towards the exit.

------

Ignoring the fascinated looks she got from, well, the entire crew, Sarah watched anxiously as each man descended from the plane. One walked towards her and gave her a knowing glance, offering his assistance. "Excuse me miss, he'll be out in a second." MacTavish Turned back to face the chopper and yelled. "Bartowski! There's a young lady here to see you!"

"Oh really? Is she short? And not so young?" came a familiar voice from inside. "Red hair, never shuts up…."

"Not hardly sir! But she does like a good mi-ti." Sarah shot him a questioning look. At those words, Chuck flew down the ramp, and stepped out onto the deck. He found himself face to face with a stunningly beautiful fighter pilot.

"You came back." Her voice was heavy with emotion.

Sweeping her up in a hug that lifted Sarah off her feet, Chuck merely replied, "Of course I did. It's me."

-----

_The next afternoon…_

"Well, Mr. Bartowski, it seems you have done it again."

"I beg your pardon, general?"

"Well, let's see here, you violated military policy by fraternizing with you co-workers, you assaulted a four star general after you made disrespectful comments to her face, you disobeyed a direct order from high-command, and, to top it all off, you threw protocol to the wind when you went in to rescue Colonel Casey. You really have outdone yourself this time, Chuck."

"General-"

"Let me finish Agent Walker! Bartowski, you see that package on the table? Open it!" Hesitantly, Chuck glanced at the cardboard box.

"Well? Come on now!"

Slowly, Chuck removed the lid, and started down at the box's contents. Inside was a black jacket, with red trim and gold buttons running down the middle. On the collar, two pairs of silver bars shone back at him. Over the chest was pinned a bronze star. As Sarah stood by, completely taken aback, Casey turned to him and shook his hand.

"Well, the general and I decided to make sure you wear something decent to the wedding!" The general cracked a grin.

"Welcome to the Marines, Captain Bartowksi."

____________

_Wooty! Worth the wait, I hope! Some of the military terminology may have bogged the story down, and ill put up a guide ASAP (wanted to get this out before 2pm!) Wrapped up all that angst, and put a cherry on top. But don't worry, our geekey protagonist will soon find he's bit off more than he can chew. Minimal Charah, which I know is a bad thing for many people! Just wanted to prove that I can, in fact, write something without nauseous amounts of romance._

_As Always, PLZ REVIEW!!! Tell me about how you hated how AU this chapter seemed. Or how you wish I would stop dropping COD4 references (good luck with that one). An overly critical review is a million times better than no review at all. To better facilitate my readers, I have even enabled anonymous comments. Please take the time to let me know how I'm doing, it will increase the quality of future chapters!_

_New update next Tuesday: Sarah confronts Chuck about his outbursts, all is not well in Bartowski-town. Wedding planning, prank calls, and a mysterious visitor._


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